


This Game of Ours

by wayward_stranger



Category: Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Haikyuu!!
Genre: Action, Aged up characters, And more tags, Angst, Death, Drama, Mages, Major character death - Freeform, Multi, No Smut, Romance, Sad Backstories, Some Fluff, Summoning, Tragedy, a bit of comedy maybe, although not a lot, characters are mages or spirits with magic powers, fate zero au, fictional au, haikyyuu!! crossover with fate zero universe, heroic servants, holy grail war, i'm writing a really long fic here please bear with me, magical au, might add more characters and ships as i go along, multi shipsss, no previous knowledge on Fate Zero universe to read, please don't ask me to write smut, please read previous tag, spells, spirits summoning, super long chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-08-23 09:44:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 46,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8323126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wayward_stranger/pseuds/wayward_stranger
Summary: Right in the heart of Fuyuki City, a phenomenon known as the Holy Grail War occurs once every thirty years. Seven mages are chosen to participate. Seven servants are summoned. All of them compete to win the Holy Grail, a magical object that allows the user to grant any desire they have in the world. Shouyou and Kenma both wish for peace. Tooru wants revenge for what happened to Hajime's family and Shigeru offers to help.Daichi participates for the sake of his family while Hitoka tries to take that away from him.And Koutarou only wishes for an escape from his normal life.The pieces for the game are in place.The Grail War has begun.





	1. strike the match, and watch it burn

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thanks for clicking on this fic among so many others. I know the first chapter is really long so I hope you guys are able to bear with it. The next chapters are probably going to be just as long, or even longer... I really wanted to make a fantasy au fic and I thought a Fate Zero au would be really cool. But, you don't have to watch the entire anime to be able to enjoy this fic. The universe in this fic isn't exactly similar with the one in Fate Zero (or Fate/Stay Night) since I made a few tweaks on my own :). I'm also playing around with the characters a bit so they might be on the OOC side.

**begin**

to proceed to perform the first or earliest part of some action; commence; start:

 _aṭivai-ttal_ **|** _āmukha_ **|** _archḗ_ **|** _chuàng_ **|** _hţẖyl_ **|** _incipere_ **|** _bdạ̉_

* * *

 

 

 

 

_Hot. Hot. Too hot._

_Hisashi tried to push himself up to a sitting position. The air around him was filled with the scent of smoke. He coughed several times into his hand, feeling his lungs cry out for fresh air. His ears still rang from the sound of the blast that threw him out of the building. He got up shakily to his feet and stood up to find everything burning around him._

_“Impossible…” Hisashi whispered as his eyes took everything in. The entire building was gone, only the charred remains of its foundation were left behind. The other buildings all around him as well as the roads and cars weren’t safe from the explosion either. Only rubble remained of the city he knew and grew up in. And as he surveyed the destruction all around him, one clear thought echoed sharply in his mind._

_“You did this.”_

_Hisashi froze. His ears were still ringing from the blast but he heard that voice as clear as a bell. Or it could just be his imagination making him hear things. Either way, he turned around._

_“You did this.”_

_The Sawamura woman, Sawamura Meiko, stood behind him. Her clothes were torn and filthy but she didn’t seem to care. Her bright red hair spilled around her shoulders, making her face look as if she was framed by fire. The expression on her face showed furious rage, and her dark, onyx eyes burned brighter than the flames all around them._

_“So you must have seen it then,” Hisashi answered back. He didn’t see Sawamura Meiko inside the building when he was busy fighting the last Servant. But if she was, she would have then seen that Hisashi use his own Servant, Sugawara Koushi of the Archer class, destroy the Grail. A few minutes before the Grail exploded, he managed to use an ‘Accelerate’ spell and cast a portal to exit through. However, he was too slow to enter the portal and the blast managed to reach him even as he teleported outside the building. As for Sawamura, well he wasn’t that interested to know how she managed to survive._

_Because in the end, the destruction really was his fault._

_“Is this what you wanted?” Sawamura asked, her voice as sharp as the edge of a dagger._

_“You can kill me, if that’s going to satisfy you,” he said, holding his hands up in a look of surrender. “It doesn’t matter now anyway.”_

_“No,” she shook her head. “You’re free to burn yourself here if you want to. But if you do make it out alive, I’m going to make the rest of your existence as miserable as possible.” And with that, she turned around and left, running past the flames, unafraid that they were going to consume her._

_“IWAIZUMI!”_

_Hisashi turned around sharply, detecting the scream coming from the building’s direction. And sure enough, out of the flames and smoke, he found his Servant walking out towards him. Sugawara Koushi always appeared calm and collected when he was around him. But now, it looked as if he was a completely different person. His clothes were mostly burnt off and the skin that it revealed was either red or black. His silver hair was almost gone. But even though the explosion and flames took most of his face, Hisashi could still see the burning hatred and anger on Sugawara’s now ugly and twisted face._

_The blast should have killed him. But then again, Sugawara Koushi is considered to be one of the most powerful Heroic Servants._

_“You! You made me destroy it!” he yelled. He was limping even as he walked towards Hisashi, brandishing a dagger in his right hand._

_‘This is what happens to those who are obsessed with the Grail’s power,’ Hisashi thought as he calmly lifted up his right hand. He wondered if he could have ended up like Sugawara._

_“Go ahead, do it then!” he screamed once he saw what Hisashi was about to do. “Use it to send me away.”_

_“Shouldn’t you be begging me not to do that?” Hisashi asked, frowning at him._

_“It doesn’t matter. I’m going to come back anyway,” Sugawara laughed. “I’ll always come back, Iwaizumi Hisashi.”_

_A wave of unease washed over him after hearing Sugawara’s words. He was right. Sugawara Koushi was too powerful a Heroic Servant to not be summoned for the Grail War. Hisashi had hoped that the Grail was going to be completely destroyed, but the amount of mana he detected after it exploded seemed to suggest the opposite. His only hope would be for the future generation to destroy it completely. Hisashi glanced at the back side of his right hand which contained the last Command Seal._

_“We’ll see about that then.”_

_Sugawara Koushi disappeared as soon as he uttered the command to banish him. Thunder rumbled in the skies above him. Droplets of rain began to fall. Slowly at first, and then soon enough, Hisashi’s clothes and hair were soaked. He stood in the same spot as the fires were slowly quenched by the rain._

_And with that, the Grail War ended._

…

 

Kenma opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling overhead.

It was more than twenty feet above the floor and made of solid concrete. It had to be, it was for the Combat Magic Training Room after all, a place where young mages could go all out with their powers. Kenma was very familiar with this ceiling since Shouyo came here often to practice. Sometimes Kenma would train with him, if he wasn’t too tired. But most of the time he ended up helping Shouyo train him even if he was tired. His friend was very persuasive.

Kenma yawned and rubbed at his eyes. He had dozed off again on the soft, mattress-like floor in the place where people usually practiced their high jumps and gymnastics. Combat Magic wasn’t one of his strong suits so he rarely used the area except for when he was trying to take a short nap while Shouyo was training.

He turned to the side and found that his friend was still practicing. Shouyo was probably going to stick around for a little while longer, which Kenm didn’t entirely mind. Waiting for him in the Combat Magic Training Room was infinitely better than going home. Anywhere was infinitely better than home. Kenma stayed in the dorm on campus in order to give him an excuse to not go home. But today, his father was requiring him to attend a family dinner.

Kenma sat up so he could get a better view. Shouyo ran on top of one of the steel beams that hung from the ceiling, his movements so fast and quick that even Kenma could hardly trace them. But he could definitely tell that Shouyo was using the tiniest amount of wind magic as well to increase his speed, no normal human being could possibly move that fast.

In just a few seconds, he had reached the opposite end of the training gym. Kenma recognized in the split second before Shouyo vaulted himself off a beam that he was practicing the same move he’d been dying to perfect. Even in mid-air, his movements were lithe and graceful, kind of like a cat leaping in the air. Shouyo yelled out a quick incantation, which Kenma immediately recognized as Arabic, before slashing through the air with his right hand. The gust of wind that Shouyo created sliced at the wooden dummy he was targeting on the floor. The mage-in-training himself, however, was hurtled through the air by the force.

Kenma held out a hand, stretching out the shadow of his arm which then took hold of Shouyo’s ankle before he hit the floor. His friend dangled in mid-air for a few seconds before Kenma lowered him gently onto one of huge, air-filled cushions inside the gym.

“Nice catch, Kenma!” Shouyo laughed and flashed him a thumbs-up as he tried to sit up. Kenma shook his head and stood up, trying to look annoyed or indifferent despite the small smile on his face.

“You could have really fallen this time, Shouyo,” he scolded him slightly.

“No. You’re always there to catch me anyway,” Shouyo grinned and slid off the large cushion. He was right, Kenma felt as if catching him was already an instinctive habit. He watched Shouyo stretch his arms over his head and turn towards the wooden dummy he was trying to target earlier. His previous cheerful expression was now replaced by frustration when he saw that the gust of wind he tried to do didn’t cut through the dummy completely.

Kenma quickly noticed the change in mood and put a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You were pretty close this time,” he said.

“Yeah but it’s been weeks already,” Shouyo groaned.

“But does it have to cut all the way through?” Kenma pointed out, cocking his head a bit to the side as he looked at the wooden dummy.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Shouyo asked, turning his attention to Kenma.

“Well, you’re trying to add more force so that you could slice the wooden dummy in half, right? But that only means that the force will hurtle you back quite a lot as well, which isn’t a good thing,” Kenma began to explain.

“Hmm…” Shouyo held a hand under his chin as he mulled the thought over. “So instead of just doing one big ‘Zoom,’ I can just do something like a bunch of ‘Whoosh-es.’ That’s what you’re saying, right?”

“Uh… yeah…” Kenma nodded slowly. He would never get used to Shouyo’s way of talking.

“I see! That way I can try doing two slashes at the same time but with less force and the damage would be just as great!” Shouyo looked at Kenma, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

“I’ll try that now.”

“No.” Kenma immediately reached out and took hold of Shouyo’s wrist. “You’ve been practicing for hours already, you don’t have enough mana now. You’ll probably fall straight to the ground before you even try it out.”

“No way, I’m still fine,” Shouyo brushed it off. Kenma stared at him before reaching up and poking his friend’s forehead with two fingers. Shouyo fell and collapsed backward.

“I guess you are fine,” Kenma said. Shouyo looked up at him and pouted, sticking his bottom lip out slightly. He looked just like a little kid instead of a grown adult training to be a mage.

“Tomorrow then,” Shouyo gave in. He got up shakily to his feet and Kenma put an arm around his waist to steady him a little as they walked out of the training gym to their lockers. Kenma could feel Shouyo’s legs shaking and hear his panting breaths. ‘He pushed himself way too far again,’ he thought, frowning slightly to himself.

“So you’re really going to the family dinner later then,” Shouyo said, easing himself down to sit on one of the benches in the locker room.

“I don’t really have much of a choice,” Kenma sighed. When it came to his father, he never had much of a choice. The Kozume family was one of the three major mage families in Fuyuki City; they were also one of the oldest ones. His father, Kozume Seikyo, was the head of their family. He was a stern and cold man who never showed a single facial expression other than that of complete indifference. Besides that, he was also a very traditional man who held much of the Kozume’s family values at heart.

Kenma was his fourth son and since he was the youngest among his siblings as well, he was the one who his father paid the least attention to. When he was accepted into Fuyuki Academy, the best magic academy in Japan, his father allowed him to move out and stay in a dorm on campus without batting an eye. Kenma was thankful for that, but it didn’t exempt him from the occasional family gatherings during dinnertime.

“Right, sorry about that,” Shouyo said.

“You don’t need to apologize,” Kenma shook his head. Before getting his towel out of his locker, he paused and turned to his friend. “Are you sure you can’t wait for me to arrive before you go to the museum.”

“Yes, Kenma,” Shouyo said exasperatedly. “I’ve got the route and plan memorized in my head. I’ll be in and out as quick as I can.” He looked up at him with eyes that said ‘Trust me, I’ve got this’ but Kenma couldn’t completely erase the doubt from his mind. Hinata wasn’t exactly the stealthy type, his abilities were more suited for open-area battles. Kenma, on the other hand, could easily use his shadow-type magic for situations that demanded stealth. Museum robbery, to be more exact.

“Fine,” he lied. “But don’t do anything rash without me.”

“I won’t,” Shouyo said lightly. “After that we’ll head right to Yamagi Forest. Hopefully before the full moon.” That was the reason why the two of them couldn’t reschedule the summoning of their servants. It was the Summer Solstice, and at midnight, the mana fields were strong and ripe for a summoning. He and Shouyo were definitely going to put that to good use.

Even without having mentioned it exactly, Kenma could tell how excited Shouyo was. He remembered how long they had waited for this day, how long they talked and planned and dreamed. And once this night was over, they would be one step closer to achieving their goal.

It wasn’t just Shouyo either. It was as if the entire city of Fuyuki was quivering with anticipation. Even with his simple skills in sensory magic, Kenma could tell that there was a change in the mana fields within the city. The air itself felt charged with energy. The stadium was filled, only the players were needed.

The players for the Holy Grail War.

 

…

 

Shigeru stepped off the elevator and scanned the different faces of the crowd in the airport. He didn’t have to look around very long and easily found the person he was looking for. In his expensive-looking, tidy black suit and tie, Iwaizumi Hajime was a hard target to miss. Shigeru never met him in person before but he had no doubt that it was him.

“Yahaba Shigeru?” he asked in a deep voice that was polite nonetheless. Shigeru nodded.

“You must be Iwaizumi-san then,” he smiled. “Thank you for taking the time to fetch me from the airport,” he bowed. The look on Iwaizumi’s face was one of unexpected surprise which then slowly melted away when a smile came over his features. It was a small smile, one that contrasted greatly with his somehow rough facial features. ‘Rough on the outside, soft on the inside,’ Shigeru quickly deduced.

“It’s no trouble at all,” Iwaizumi shrugged. “It wouldn’t really be great for the both of us if you got lost on your first day. How long has it been since you were in Japan again?”

“I left when I was thirteen so… about ten years then,” Shigeru answered. The two of them began walking past the crowds of people in the airport. Iwaizumi walked in front and Shigeru got a good view of how large he actually was compared to him.

“Well, Oikawa’s still at the house since he had some ‘important business to attend to’ but I’m guessing he’s probably sleeping under a pile of books again,” Iwaizumi said in a slightly irritated tone. He walked ahead straight towards one of the cars parked in the parking lot outside. After unlocking it, he opened the trunk and loaded Shigeru’s suitcases in. He didn’t pack a lot of clothes and personal belonging with him, just enough to fill up one suitcase. The other one, however, Shigeru had placed a charm on so he could fill it with as many books and scrolls as he can. After getting into the car, Iwaizumi switched on the engine and pulled out of the parking space.

Fuyuki City had changed a lot over the years since he was gone. Shigeru lay back against the car seat and stared out the window, taking note of all the new buildings, shops, and restaurants that he didn’t remember seeing when he used to live in the area. There used to be a sports stadium that was only half-finished when Shigeru left the country. Now, it was fully constructed and gleaming as the afternoon sunlight hit the glass windowpanes. He took his time reading the shop signs as they drove past, trying to get himself used to reading in Japanese again. Having to speak in it proved to be a bit of a challenge earlier since Shigeru had already grown accustomed to speaking in English back in his home in London. But it wasn’t altogether impossible.

Iwaizumi drove past Fuyuki Academy, which immediately caught Shigeru’s attention. He had gone to the Academy back when he still lived in Japan to get his basic magic training. The campus was much bigger than he remembered. The Combat Magic Training Gym wasn’t there before, neither was the large building for Magical Research and the Sakura Residence Hall. ‘I guess their budget went up,’ Shigeru thought, smiling to himself. A lot of new things had changed when he was gone, however he wasn’t just taking note of the physical changes.

Shigeru could sense it. The awakening of the Grail’s power. He wouldn’t be surprised if there were mages already starting to summon their Servants. Once all Seven were summoned, the Grail would be fully awake.

His hands curled on his lap and he felt his body stiffen as he looked out the window. Iwaizumi seemed to take notice of this and looked over at him.

“You’ve been told why you’re here, I’m sure,” he said.

“Yeah,” Shigeru nodded in reply. “My father told me. You two have met, right?”

“A few times, I still remember him visiting when I was younger,” Iwaizumi said. The Yahaba and Iwaizumi families had been close allies for the longest time. Shigeru’s father, Yahaba Shinsuke, was the head of the family. His mother, on the other hand, was the daughter of the head of the Blackwood family, an old mage family from England. Their marriage tied to the two families together which led to Shigeru receiving his education from the London School of Magical Arts when he was older.

The ten years of special training he received served a much greater purpose.

“I’m guessing you and Oikawa-san haven’t summoned your servant yet,” Shigeru inquired, turning to look at Iwaizumi.

“No,” he shook his head. “But we’re planning to do it tonight, and you’re right on time too.”

“Right, stronger mana fields since it’s the Summer Solstice,” Shigeru nodded.

“Oikawa has it marked on every calendar in the house, and we have five of them,” Iwaizumi shook his head and chuckled. Then his expression was serious again and he turned his head to look at Shigeru.

“One question though, if you don’t mind me asking…”

“Is it about my age?” Shigeru guessed. He wouldn’t be surprised if it was a question about his age. Oikawa and Iwaizumi had asked for help from the Yahaba family. And since his father promised to always help the Iwaizumi family when they were in need, he sent help in the form of his twenty-three year old son. Twenty-three was quite a young age for a mage to be experienced in the magical arts, but Shigeru had always been exceptional beyond his years.

“Well, yeah that too. But from what I heard from your father, you’re quite the genius,” Iwaizumi said. “But my main question is: Why would your father send his own son to join us in fighting the Grail War?”

‘He’s perceptive,’ Shigeru immediately thought, pleased at the new discovery. “Well, besides the fact that my parents have always trusted in my abilities, they thought that it would be good training for me to take part in this Grail War. After all, I am from both the Blackwood and Yahaba family. There are certain standards that I have to live up to.”

“Sounds tough,” was Iwaizumi’s response. Shigeru felt himself smile. He felt himself growing to like his new companion more and more. Instead of trying to feign sympathy, he gave an honest and direct answer and didn’t ask him to say anything more. Shigeru leaned back and relaxed against the seat to look out the window again. This time, he wasn’t paying any more attention to the physical changes. Years of Sensory Magic training have allowed Shigeru to detect even the slightest changes in the mana fields around him. They were barely there, but he was able to detect the faintest disruptions in Fuyuki City’s mana fields which were no doubt caused by the Grail.

 

…

 

Tadashi took a good long look at the calendar on his wall, with all the red X’s marking the days and post-it reminders, before yanking it down and tearing it half. He crumpled the papers up with both hands before tossing it to the nearest wastebasket. He didn’t need that anymore. He turned back to the wall and took down several constellation maps, this time rolling them up neatly before placing them inside one of his boxes. The box was filled to the brim with even more things: pentagram sketches, lists of runes and symbols, a simple chemistry set, and some Latin homework.

Tadashi stood back and swept over the room once more, searching for something he forgot to put away. Then, his eyes landed on the framed sheet of paper he kept hanging over his desk. ‘I knew I should have packed that away first,’ he thought, mentally kicking himself for not doing so as he walked over to it. Tadashi took it from the wall and held it carefully in his hands. Behind the glass frame was the acceptance letter Tadashi got from Fuyuki Academy two years ago. ‘Dear Yamaguchi Tadashi, we are happy to inform you that you’ve been accepted in Fuyuki Academy on a fifty-percent scholarship.’ Even without reading it, he still remembered the words and recited them often in his head.

Tadashi still remembered the day when he read those same exact words. His fingers were trembling as they opened the envelope to get the letter out. He had spent the past few months in a constant state of emotional turmoil, his mind worrying over whether he got into Fuyuki or not. He had wanted to get into Fuyuki Academy and become a powerful mage ever since he was young. Everyone in his class laughed at him for it. His teachers shook their heads at him and whispered behind his back. His mother never failed to make a snide remark about it. But despite all of that, Tadashi persisted.

So when he read those words, Tadashi felt as if his world had turned upside down.

He didn’t come from a powerful mage family, in fact, he didn’t come from a mage family at all. The only mage in their family was his father who wasn’t even that powerful. He died when Tadashi was still young so he couldn’t ask him for help either. The mage training he received mostly came from the basic stuff taught as an extra-curricular in high school and from teaching himself using books he found in the library. His mage training wasn’t as intensive as the ones that other kids from mage families undertook. And with the intense competition and grading system in Fuyuki Academy, there was little hope for someone like Tadashi to enter. But he did.

After graduating, Tadashi packed most of his belongings, moved out of his house and into the dorm rooms in the campus. His fifty percent scholarship covered most of the tuition fees but Tadashi had to work several part-time jobs to actually sustain himself. He was tired most of the time, but at least he knew the tiredness had its own reward. After graduation, Tadashi was hoping that he’d be taken in as an apprentice by another powerful mage. Then, he’d hone his skills even more and become a powerful mage himself. Then, maybe the people who scorned him would finally take him seriously.

Or at least that’s what he thought.

A few days ago, he was called into the counselor’s office. Mr. Kizune was incredibly nice to him. He poured him a cup of tea and asked him about how he was and if he had any troubles at all. Tadashi shook his head and said no, he didn’t have any troubles. He had been worried when he was summoned to his office, worried that maybe his grades were dropping. But then he began to relax. Tadashi thought that it was just a routine check-up on the students. That was until Mr. Kizune said those words. The words that Tadashi never thought he would hear, the words that made his blood run cold and his ears stop hearing.

‘We are taking back your scholarship, and cutting you out of the academy.’

‘But why?’ Tadashi asked, looking up at Mr. Kizune in disbelief. ‘Are my grades dropping? Are—‘

‘It’s not any of those,’ Mr. Kizune reassured him. The school was ‘running out of funding’ and couldn’t afford to sustain all of the scholars they had. Because of that, they had to cut down, had to carefully select who they were giving scholarships to. Taking out students was also ‘necessary’ in the development of the school until only the best remained. And Tadashi just wasn’t one of them.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t good enough. It’s just that there were plenty of other people better than him. Tadashi knew what kind of people they were. They were the elite. The ones who came from powerful families, rich families. Rich enough to afford personal trainers to develop their own skills. And Tadashi wasn’t one of them.

Instead of placing it in the box along with his other things, Tadashi placed it face-down on the desk. The rest of his boxes of things were already loaded in the back of a rusty, old pick-up truck that he rented for the day. The one he had was the last one. He lifted it up and shut the door behind him as he left the room and headed down the hallway. Outside, the students were loitering around the residence hall in groups of three and more. Tadashi felt a hint of loathing when he saw how happy they were. But it was quickly replaced by self-loathing when he realized how pathetic he looked. Torn, ragged jeans and an old t-shirt. Sneakers scuffed beyond repair. A box of belongings in his hands that betrayed his situation.

Tadashi looked down to avoid catching anyone else in the eye. He tried to block out the sounds of whispers and snickers as he walked past. ‘None of them matter. None of them matter,’ he told himself over and over again. In his concentration, he didn’t notice the foot that one of the students stuck out in his path. Tadashi tripped over it and fell forward, the box flying out of his hands and spilling on the concrete steps.

“Well, well, I guess Yamaguchi finally got kicked out,” a voice said behind him. Tadashi spun around and found Ryuunosuke standing above him, his mouth curled up in a smirk. He was one of the students in his class that picked on him the most. Usually he tried to keep it low-key since bullying was carefully monitored by the teachers. But now that Tadashi was technically expelled, Ryuunosuke was free to do what he wanted.

“Just leave me alone,” Tadashi muttered, brushing the dust off his arms. He knew perfectly well that retaliating against Ryuunosuke wouldn’t solve anything. He would use any dirty trick to win, and Tadashi would still be the humiliated one in the end.

“You never really were meant to be in Fuyuki Academy…” he heard Ryuunosuke continue. “After all, it’s for the elite, not the _common.”_ Tadashi blocked him out and got to his knees, he started putting things back in his box. Everything seemed to be okay, except for the chemistry set which was now mostly broken. Tadashi bit his lip in an attempt to stop the tears from coming out.

‘But where’s the medallion?’ Tadashi realized after putting most of his things in the box. He looked around wildly and found it lying on one of the concrete steps in front of him. He reached his arm out and was about to get it when a black, leather shoe appeared and stepped on it. Ryuunosuke bent down and picked the silver medallion up right before Tadashi could snatch it from him.

“Give that back,” he snapped, instantly standing up to face him.

“This thing?” Ryuunosuke raised an eyebrow and held the medallion close to inspect it. It didn’t look that special, despite the fact that it was made of pure silver. On one side was a simple engraving of a few runes for protection. On the other side was the Big Dipper constellation etched on the surface along with the words _eutolmía_ and _sthénos_. Tadashi had to have it back.

“Give it back!” he yelled, casting a simple magnetic spell but then having it quickly deflected by Ryuunosuke with a simple wave of his hand.

 _“Ligare,”_ he uttered. Tadashi’s legs and arms were quickly bound together, stopping him from moving. Roman curses were difficult to undo, unless you had a companion, which Tadashi didn’t.

“This old thing must be really special to you,” Ryuunosuke smirked, dangling the medallion right in front of Tadashi’s face.

“Haven’t you had enough already?” Tadashi pleaded. “I’m already leaving, what more do you want?”

“Nothing really,” Ryuunosuke shrugged. “I’ll just miss having you around, that’s all. Now, I wonder if this really is pure silver…” He held up his left hand and whispered _“Ignio_.” A small ball of flame appeared and Tadashi’s eyes widened in panic.

“Only one way to find out,” Ryuunosuke laughed.

“NO!”

He held the medallion over the flames and was about to let go when suddenly, a shadow hand reached out and snatched it right out of his hands. Tadashi gasped. Both he and Ryuunosuke turned to look for where it came from.

“I’m pretty sure this is pure silver,” said a voice right beside them. Tadashi turned around and was surprised to find another student standing near him, as if he had been there all this time. He was shorter than he was. The most noticeable trait about him was probably his hair. It grew down to his shoulders and was bleached blonde except for the roots. In his outstretched hand was Tadashi’s silver medallion, whole and unharmed.

“K-Kozume!” Ryuunosuke stammered in surprise as soon as he saw him. “Wh—How?”

“Kozume?” Tadashi breathed out. The Kozume family was one of the most powerful mage families in the country, known especially for their shadow magic. Hence, the black shadow arm that Tadashi saw earlier. But he had never seen that student on campus before and he wasn’t in any of his classes either. But then again, Fuyuki Academy was a large school.

With a simple tap on Tadashi’s shoulder, the Kozume student undid the curse Ryuunosuke placed on him. Tadashi moved his arms and legs, glad to find that they were back to normal.

“This is yours… I believe…” Kozume said, handing the medallion back to Tadashi who took it gratefully.

“Thank you, Kozume-san…” he said, bowing slightly. The student didn’t seem to acknowledge it or return the gesture. Tadashi didn’t care. He tucked the medallion safely inside his box and quickly walked away from everyone else. Ryuunosuke didn’t say anything nor choose to follow. Whoever that Kozume was, he seemed to scare or at least make him uneasy.

Tadashi let out a breath of relief once he got inside the car and sat down on the driver’s seat. He placed his box on the passenger seat beside him but took out the silver medallion that he almost lost. “That was close…” he breathed out, holding the medallion to his chest and feeling the cool metal through the fabric of his clean shirt. Tadashi closed his eyes and images of Ryuunosuke’s smirking face flashed in his mind.

“Soon…” he whispered. “I’ll prove it to all of you. I’ll prove that I am a great mage.” And with that, he tucked the silver medallion in his pocket and started the car. As he drove, he felt his pockets once every few minutes to make sure it was still there. He was careless earlier, he almost lost it. But now, Tadashi was going to be more careful. The medallion, after all, was his ticket.

His ticket to the Grail War.

 

…

 

Hitoka passed by the commotion on the front steps of the Academy without looking twice at what was happening. Apparently, Ryuunosuke was picking on that guy called Yamaguchi. She knew him, he was her seatmate in Magical Healing, but the only time they actually talked to each was when they exchanged the occasional ‘Hello’ in the morning and during group work projects. Besides the fact that he was pretty good in that class, she knew nothing else about him.

The Sawamura car always arrived at five o’clock sharp in the afternoon after her classes ended to pick her up. It was one of those sleek, silver, fancy cars that Hitoka guessed caused a fortune to buy. The Sawamura family probably had five of those cars. The driver stepped out to open the door for her and Hitoka promptly got inside, placing her schoolbag on her lap. Some students paused to stare at the car as it drove out of the school. Hitoka hid a small smile in her hand. The regular appearance of the car led almost everyone in school to think that she came from one of those rich families. Well, that wasn’t completely false.

Hitoka pulled out a tablet out of her schoolbag and began to check her email for any new messages from Ms. Sawamura, her boss. Finding none, she went over her tasks for the day which were always recorded on her tablet’s calendar and planner.

“Madam has quite a few tasks for you today,” she heard Kurose-san speak up. She looked up at him and smiled slightly.

“Yeah, but no new ones though,” Hitoka said, switching off the tablet and tucking it back into her bag.

“Which one would you like to do first?” he asked. Hitoka looked out the window.

“The museum first, to get the crown.”

“Hmm… Most important one first?” Kurose-san mused.

“The museum’s the nearest,” she reasoned. “After that we can pick up the rest of Ms. Sawamura needs before we get back to the mansion.

“Right?” Kurose-san nodded. “Madam says we need to be back by seven o’ clock.”

“Naturally,” Hitoka said. Even though he was supposed to do it at midnight, Daichi Sawamura needed the crown on hand to make all the necessary preparations before the actual summoning. It was Hitoka’s job to actually collect it.

A few minutes later, Kurose-san parked the car in front of the Fuyuki Museum of Natural History and got out first to open Hitoka’s door. The building was one of the oldest structures in the city, but due to its careful maintenance, it had been preserved well. The design resembled that of Ancient Greek architecture with its large, marble pillars and stone blocks for the walls. Even the simple security and warding spells were written in Ancient Greek. Hitoka read some of them as she passed by and walked inside the museum.

The first thing that caught her attention were the three police offers talking to some of the museum’s security guards and the curator, Mr. Hanzo. He looked up when he saw Hitoka enter and she flashed a friendly smile and a wave in greeting. Hitoka was often sent to the museum whenever Mrs. Sawamura ordered her to run an errand. Most of the time she picked up and exchanged documents or delivered messages. But on rare occasions, like now, she was required to pick up magical artifacts.

“Misao-san,” Mr. Hanzo smiled in greeting as he walked up to her, excusing himself from the police for a while.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Hanzo,” Hitoka bowed. Her frequent visits to the museum also allowed her to become close friends with the curator who often invited her for tea whenever she had free time. He was a friendly old man with white hair and black-rimmed glasses.

“I assume you’re here for the pick-up,” he said, walking past the lobby and down a hallway towards his office.

“That’s right,” Hitoka nodded, walking beside him. “By the way, why are there police in the hallway?” she asked.

“Oh, that…” Mr. Hanzo paused as he opened the door to his office. “Well, we don’t really want this news to become public, but you don’t seem like the type to spread secrets out too much…” he trailed off, raising an eyebrow at Hitoka.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, Mr. Hanzo,” she shook her head. “But if you do, I promise not to tell Mrs. Sawamura about it.”

“I trust you won’t, Misao-san,” Mr. Hanzo smiled at her. “Well, it appears that one of our artifacts was stolen a few days ago,” he said, running a hand through his white hair.

“But, you have security guards and wards and everything,” Hitoka said, putting up a shocked expression on her face.

“The thief went past all of those,” Mr. Hanzo shook his head. “The wards, the guards, everything. But the strangest thing is, they only took one item with them.”

“That is quite strange…” Hitoka mused, holding a hand up to her chin. “Did they take something of extremely high value?”

“Not even that,”Mr. Hanzo shook his head again. “The only thing they stole was a plain metal collar necklace that belonged to an assassin from the _Yoru no Ken_ clan. If I was a thief I’d head straight for the jade collection or the gold displays but this was the only thing that was missing.”

“At least only one thing was stolen,” Hitoka said. “But then that means that you’ll have to recalibrate your security measures then in case something happens.”

“That’s right,” Mr. Hanzo nodded and entered his office. “I’ve been hiring more mages to set up better wards and protection spells. Hopefully those’ll prevent any more artifacts from being stolen.” He walked behind his desk and opened one of the drawers. “Now, you’re getting the crown, aren’t you..? Ah! There it is…”

From a drawer, Mr. Hanzo pulled out a box-like case covered in red velvet and set it on top of the desk, pushing it towards Hitoka. “There it is…” he said, watching her as she flipped open the top of the case to reveal the contents. “The crown of Sugawara Koushi.”

The lid and bottom part of the case was lined with dark blue silk that served as a cushion for the real treasure nestled on top of it. The crown was made of bands of pure silver and pale gold braided together to form a circlet. Golden topazes were embedded in between the strands, its bright, warm colors contrasting with the pale metals.

“The crown of the Silver Emperor,” Hitoka added. Slowly, she put down the lid and tucked the case into a suitcase that she brought with her.

“So, the Sawamuras really are participating in this war then,” Mr. Hanzo spoke up.

“That’s right,” Hitoka nodded. “Mrs. Sawamura said that it’s going to be good experience for Daichi-san to participate, not to mention the prize he’ll get when he wins.”

“The prize, yes, of course,” Mr. Hanzo murmured. “The power to have any wish granted and the prestige that comes along with winning the Grail War. Who wouldn’t want to have any of those?”

‘Those who are too scared and too weak to actually fight,’ Hitoka wanted to answer. But she didn’t. Instead she smiled and picked up the suitcase.

“I’ll be one my way now, Mr. Hanzo. Mrs. Sawamura thanks you for this,” she bowed.

“We haven’t had tea again in a while,” Mr. Hanzo said as he walked her to the door of his office. “Come by again next time if you aren’t too busy.”

“I will,” she nodded, bowing one last time before leaving the office. She walked down the same hallway she had come from and smirked slightly as she passed the police who were still in the lobby. Kurose-san was waiting for her outside, leaning against the car while he checked his phone. As soon as he saw Hitoka walking down the steps he opened the car door for her. She went inside and laid the suitcase down on her lap as Kurose-san shut the door after her.

While he was walking back to the driver’s seat, Hitoka looked out the window and saw someone standing on the sidewalk right in front of the museum. He seemed to be quite short, probably only slightly taller than Hitoka. He was wearing a dark gray sweater with the hood pulled up to cover his head. Standing there, he looked so out of place compared to everyone else rushing past him on the sidewalk.

The car drove out of its parking space and headed down the road. Hitoka lost sight of the boy. But if she had stayed behind and took more notice of him, she would have seen the shock of orange hair underneath his hood, and the determination shining in his eyes as he looked up at the museum building.

 

…

 

“Here we are,” Hajime said, pulling to a stop in front of the house he and Oikawa shared. It was a Western-style house with three floors, excluding the attic and basement. Quite simple actually, compared to the other house that they used to live in when they were kids which was much larger than this one. But that house burned down a long time ago, Hajime and Oikawa were just lucky that his family still had another house somewhere.

Hajime unlocked the trunk and brought out his companion’s suitcases, Yahaba carried took one of them himself and stood aside as he opened the door to the house. “Nice wards,” he heard Yahaba comment behind him as the two of them entered the house.

“Oh, thanks,” Hajime nodded. “Oikawa placed all of them.” The protective wards on their house had actually been reinforced a few weeks before the Grail began to appear. A ‘precautionary measure’ that the two of them felt was extremely necessary. Hajime walked into the living room and placed Yahaba’s suitcase on one of the couches. “So the first floor is basically the living room, the kitchen, and the dining room,” he said, turning back to his guest. The living room and dining room were pretty neat and tidy since neither he nor Oikawa spent much time there. Whenever they ate, it was usually by the kitchen counter, or in the basement when they were busy. Yahaba surveyed the area with polite interest.

“The bathroom’s down the hall but each bedroom has a bathroom anyway,” Hajime said as he walked down the hallway. “Those are the stairs that lead up to the first floor and here’s the basement,” he said, stopping in front of a door inscribed with more runes and wards. He could see the interest in Yahaba’s eyes as he looked at it. “Oikawa’s probably inside so I’ll get him out to see you.”

“Wouldn’t he be busy or something?” Yahaba asked.

“Yeah, but he works himself to death all the time anyway,” Hajime shrugged, turning the knob of the door. He wasn’t even sure if Oikawa had lunch or breakfast yet. Yahaba stayed behind as Hajime walked down the staircase. The basement was cool and dark, dimly lit by a single lightbulb flashing overhead. There were shelves of books placed against the walls and chalk drawings of pentagrams on the floor. A desk placed against the right side of the room had piles of books and scrolls littered over it and Oikawa Tooru, fast asleep with his arms over his head, still wearing the same clothes from yesterday.

“Idiot, how long have you been in here?” Hajime scolded his friend, knocking him in the back of the head with one of the scrolls on the desk. Oikawa instantly sat up and wheeled around to look at Hajime, his hand flying to cover up the spot behind his head where he was hit.

“Iwa-chan! Rude! You don’t just hit people while they’re sleeping!” Oikawa exclaimed.

“How long have you been here, idiot?!” Hajime snapped, ignoring his comment. “Did you even eat anything like I told you?” All animosity faded from Oikawa’s expression and was replaced with a sheepish and undoubtedly guilty smile.

“I… forgot,” he said in a small voice. “But at least you were here to remind me! What am I going to do without you, Iwa-chan?”

“Unlike you, flattery doesn’t work on me,” Hajime shook his head and took hold of the back of Oikawa’s shirt, lifting him off his chair. “Come on, you’re getting something to eat, after you meet our guest.”

“Wait, wait.” Oikawa held on to his arm, stopping him before they went up the staircase. “The Yahaba kid is here already? I-I need to dress up first and make myself present—“

“Should have done that earlier,” Hajime shook his head, smiling slightly to himself as he continued dragging Oikawa up the stairs. “And the ‘Yahaba kid’ is named Shigeru, for your information.”

“Yahaba Shigeru,” he heard Oikawa murmur to himself. “I better show him the incantations and runes already. And then we’ll have to do the necessary preparations and—“

“ _After_ you eat,” Hajime interrupted him again, stopping in front of the basement door and finally letting go of his hold on Oikawa. His friend straightened up and began smoothing down his hair and the wrinkles on his clothes, constantly muttering about how he should have worn something other than a sweater and sweatpants. Instead of enjoying the sight of how ridiculous he looked like he always did, Hajime was biting his bottom lip with worry as he watched him. Oikawa spent most of his time in the basement, that wasn’t a rare thing. But as the days until the Grail’s appearance drew nearer, he began spending more time in the basement and less time outside the room, practicing magic and reading up new spells in preparation for the war. Hajime did what he could to help, but he wasn’t as much of an expert as Oikawa was with those things. The least he could do was to make sure he was eating and getting some sleep, but it seemed like he was failing at that too.

“How do I look?” Oikawa asked. Hajime looked at him and saw the dark grey circles under his eyes, the wrinkles in his clothes, and the flyaway strands of hair that framed his face.

“You look terrible,” he answered bluntly. “Yahaba-san isn’t going to take you seriously at all.”

“Do you always have to be this blunt?” Oikawa sighed. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to use my charm to win him over,” he shrugged and flashed a smirk at Hajime before opening the door. Yahaba was standing in the same spot he was in earlier and instantly looked up once the door opened and Oikawa stepped out to greet him.

“You must be Yahaba Shigeru,” he said cheerily, flashing him a smile. “It is an honor to have you at our humble abode,” he added, holding his hand out to Yahaba. Hajime walked behind him and rolled his eyes at his friend’s behavior.

“And you must be Oikawa Tooru,” Yahaba shook his hand and returned the smile. “Thank you for having me over.”

“No, thank you for coming,” Oikawa waved his hand at him. “Sorry for having to greet you like this, it appears I fell asleep while reading again.”

“Iwaizumi-san said as much,” Yahaba nodded.

“Your room is upstairs, on the third floor,” Hajime said. “My room and Oikawa’s room are also upstairs but you’ll have your own bathroom. The attic is above it but it’s used only for storage. The library and study are on the second floor.”

“Hajime and I don’t use it too much though,” Oikawa butted in. “Since I use the basement room and Iwa-chan’s brain can’t handle reading a book.” Hajime whacked him on the back of the head. “Also,” Oikawa continued, rubbing the spot where he was hit. “I know you must be tired from travelling but, I suggest that we start the preparations for the summoning right away.”

“It’s perfectly alright,” Yahaba nodded. “I would say the same thing, it is sundown already.” Hajime bit his lip at the mention of this. It really was beginning, the Grail War. The magical, wish-granting, artifact that materialized in Fuyuki City once every thirty years. The one that he and Oikawa had dreamed of ever since they were kids. Hajime looked up at Oikawa who was engaged in animated conversation with Yahaba.

“I’ll be making something to eat then,” Hajime spoke up and handed Yahaba’s suitcases to Oikawa. “Show Yahaba-san to his room and call me if you need anything.”

“Sure thing,” Oikawa nodded and took the suitcases from him before turning around and walking up the stairs leading to the second floor. Hajime stood there, watching him as he climbed up. Sometimes he could still see it, the sight of Oikawa’s back turned to his with the house the two of them grew up in burning in the background.

 

…

 

“Kozume Kenma,” the guard in front of the door to their mansion said. “Welcome home,” he bowed down low in greeting.

“Thank you,” Kenma nodded. He wished his father’s guards would stop doing that. Even though it was a show of respect, the sight of them bowing down low in front of him made him feel a bit awkward. The guard stood up and opened the door for him.

“Are the rest of my family inside already?”Kenma asked, looking up at him.

“Yes sir,” the guard nodded. “They’re all in the main dining room.”

“Thank you,” Kenma said again before stepping inside. The Kozume mansion was located at the outskirts of Fuyuki city, quite near the mountains actually, where it was almost always cold. Kenma had to have a sweater on when he used to live there because of how chilly it was. Today was no exception, but the suit jacket he was wearing offered just a bit more warmth.

The sound of his footsteps on the cold, marble floor echoed throughout the hallway as Kenma walked towards the main dining hall used only for special gatherings. That was another thing he disliked about living in the mansion, the fact that the only thing he could really here when he walked around was the sound of his own footsteps. His eldest brother, Akira, would often take advantage of this and sneak up behind him as he walked down the hallways. Kenma hated that, and he wasn’t looking forward to meeting him or any of his older brothers later.

The large doors to the main dining hall loomed into view. Kenma checked himself in the mirror first before entering. Due to the formality of the occasion, and his father’s expectations of them, he had to wear a suit and tie for the family dinner. The suit jacket fit quite well, since it was tailored and everything, but he never felt completely comfortable in it. His hair, which was dyed blond except for the roots, was pulled back in a ponytail to keep it away from his face. Once he was more or less satisfied with how he looked, he entered the dining room.

“Kenma,” Akira greeted once he got inside. “Nice of you to come.” The rest of his brothers as well as his mother were all gathered around the fireplace and looked up once he walked in. Shinji, his second eldest brother, was busy talking to Kaworu, his third eldest brother. Their mother was standing quietly to the side, her hands clasped together in front of her. The long table placed in the center of the room was already set with only the food missing.

“Father’s not here yet?” Kenma asked, raising an eyebrow as he walked towards his family.

“He has a few things to take care of,” Shinji shrugged, tucking his dark hair behind an ear. “The leader of the Shadow Cult scheduled for a last minute meeting.”

“Such a troublesome guy…” Kaworu murmured as he checked his nails.

“So, how have you been, Kenma-chan?” Akira smirked. Kenma ducked his head to avoid the hand that was about to mess up his hair. “Your hair’s still the same, Father won’t like that I think. Is Fuyuki Academy working out well with you?”

“It’s fine,” Kenma shrugged.

“Just ‘fine’?” Shinji said, fixing Kenma with a slightly venomous look. “Fuyuki Academy, one of the most prestigious mage schools in Japan, and you say it’s just ‘fine’?” Kenma swallowed and instantly let his gaze drop to the floor. He should have known better than to give such a nonchalant response. All four of them, except for Shinij, were accepted into Fuyuki Academy. Ever since Kenma got in, Shinji grew colder and meaner towards him. He just didn’t really know why he was the only one he hated.

“It is a mystery how he got in,” Kaworu added, not looking up from what he was doing.

‘How about cracking a book open for once, Shinji?’ Kenma thought. He cast a glance at his mother who was looking away from them, trying to appear as if she didn’t hear anything they said. She was always this quiet, choosing not to meddle in any of the family affairs. Maybe that’s the reason why his father married her. Kenma often wondered if he got his meekness from her as well.

Suddenly, the door opened and Kenma quickly turned around to see his father striding into the room. He was wearing a dark, bottle green suit, a white button-up shirt underneath, and black slacks. The suit matched his dark green eyes and pitch black hair, making his complexion look even paler as well. Kenma and his brothers all shared the same dark hair and pale skin that often led other mages to tease them for being vampires. Kenma, on the other hand, was the only one who got his mother’s golden eyes. His bleached hair was something that he did on purpose as well, a way for people to stop associating him with the Kozume family and its reputation so much. His father saw it as a way of rebelling against him. Kenma didn’t fully agree with that but he didn’t necessarily deny it either.

“Well, you’re all here then,” his father said, surveying all of them standing near the fireplace with a cool, stony gaze.

“At your request, Father,” Akira bowed slightly.

“I apologize for coming in late. If the Cult leader stopped staring at his scrying bowl every once in a while he should be able to schedule a proper meeting,” his father said, taking a seat at the head of the table. “Take your seats everyone. Let’s get this family dinner over and done with.” Kenma let out a breath of relief, glad that the issue with Shinji was stopped by his father’s presence. He walked up to the table and took a seat beside Kaworu, who he only considered as his ‘favorite’ brother since he basically ignored him instead of picking on him. Immediately after they sat down, the servants walked in and began filling their bowls with soup for the first course.

“Now, let’s get straight to business, shall we?” his father said, leaning forward and propping his elbows up on the table. “I’m sure you are all aware that the Grail will be appearing quite soon, after the summoning of the seven Servants. The Kozume family has never taken any part in this… _tradition_ for the past few years, other than the monitoring of the Shadow Cult’s actions.”

“Will they be joining the war this year?” Shinji asked.

“They will,” his father nodded. “Their chances of actually winning the Grail, based on what they’ve told me, seem to be rather slim however.”

“As it’s been every year,” Kaworu smirked.

“Quite right,” his father agreed. “None of you are discouraged from joining the war. If you wish to fight for your family, for glory, or for the Grail, do it for all I care. But if I were you, I’d concentrate more on the upcoming Heir Selection.”

The Heir Selection. At the sound of those words, Kenma noticed the three of his brothers, including Kaworu, looking more attentive. Shinji’s eyes landed on his before quickly darting away. The Kozume family loved tradition, and the Heir Selection was one that was unique to them. Once all of the head family’s children were past twenty years of age, they have to fight each other for chance of becoming the next family heir. In older times, such matches often led to a single or multiple deaths among siblings. It was because of this that the Heir Selection was nearly banned. But the Kozume family bargained for it and allowed some specialized healers to monitor the selection and interfere with the fight whenever a life was in danger.

“I hope you don’t mind then, Father…” Shinji began. All attention turned to him. “But, I’ve decided to join the Grail War as well. I won’t be neglecting my duties for the Heir Selection, however. I’m planning on summoning my Servant tonight, and I hope that I can fight well for the honor of our family.”

“I see,” his father nodded. “Very good then, Shinji. I pray you don’t disappoint our family.” His eyes darted to meet Kenma’s for half a second before quickly moving away. A feeling of unease crept over him. Kenma looked down and concentrated on eating his soup.

“You know I won’t, Father,” Shinji smiled.

Kenma kept silent and wondered how his father would react to him joining the Grail War.

 

…

 

Shouyo silently padded down the long hallway, walking carefully to avoid being seen under the security cameras and knocking into anything set out in the hallway. The security cameras had blind spots that Shouyo targeted and moved according to. The guards were much harder to hide from, but each one had a specific routine that they followed when they checked on the various exhibits.

The wards were much harder to avoid, however. There were too many layers of protective spells that not even Kenma could undo. Instead, they searched every antique store within the city for some kind of protective amulet that might help them sneak past unnoticed. Shouyo was wearing one right now. It was a simple wooden pendant that hung on a chain around his neck. It did the job quite well. The main downside was the fact that Shouyo had to control his mana by not using any magic at all.

Finally, after more than half an hour of sneaking around, he managed to reach the Weapons Exhibit on the third floor of the museum. Aside from planning how to break into the museum, he and Kenma also spent some time thinking about the Servants they were going to summon for the war. The entire museum robbery thing was for the purpose of getting the artifacts that they needed to summon their Servants.

Once the guard left the room, Shouyo quickly headed for one of the display cases that showed spearheads both large and small. From his pocket, he fished out a key ring that he stole from one of the guards weeks ago. Working both quickly and carefully, he unlocked the display case and quickly grabbed the largest spearhead that Kenma pointed out to him before and stuffed it inside his jacket. Just then, he heard the sound of footsteps in the distance.

Biting back a curse, Shouyo locked the display case again before rolling over and ducking behind a suit of armor display just as a guard walked into the room. The sound of his own heartbeat was all he could hear and Shouyo felt a twinge of fear as a flashlight beam swept through the wall near him. Finally, the guard left the room and he let himself breathe out a sigh of relief.

Luckily, the thing that Shouyo needed was in the same room as well. He ran over to a display case across the room that contained different swords. He knew that he couldn’t exactly bring a sword with him if he was to make it out of the museum alive, but he could bring the scabbard. Just like what he did earlier with the spearhead, Shouyo unlocked the display case and unsheathed one of the swords from its scabbard. However, the sword was much heavier than he expected and it fell to the floor with a loud, metallic clatter just as he got the scabbard.

“Shit!” he cursed, not bothering to keep quiet anymore now that he knew that the guards were going to come in any moment. The sound of loud footsteps echoed throughout the hallways, signaling their presence right before they even reached the room. Shouyo pulled the hood of his jacket low over his face to keep himself from being seen and gripped the scabbard tightly in his right hand before dashing off to one of the staircases to his right.

“Halt! Show yourself!” he heard one of the guards yell behind him as he was chased up the stairs.

“Not a chance,” Shouyo muttered as he took the stairs three at a time. The guards behind him were drawing closer but he was confident he could make it upstairs to the roof in time… that is until he saw more guards stationed on top. Shouyo froze.

All of his exits were blocked. He couldn’t use any magic because the protective charm he was wearing neutralized his mana. And if he took it off, the wards placed on the museum would soon trap him. “Sure wish you were here, Kenma,” Shouyo huffed, hoping that his friend would miraculously burst in through the doors.

“Halt! Show yourself and we won’t harm you,” one of the guards said, stepping forward. At least none of the guards could use magic either due to the protective wards. Shouyo stepped back and held his hands up in the air, still refusing to let go of the sword scabbard. His eyes darted at the large window behind him. Then, an idea flashed in his head.

It was a crazy, insane, life-threatening idea. He knew Kenma would kill him if he found out. Shouyo could clearly imagine the look on his face. But that was the only way out.

He gripped the scabbard to his chest along with the spearhead inside his shirt, knowing that if he let go of these it would have all been for nothing. Shouyo squeezed his eyes shut and slammed his body against the window. The glass broke under his weight and soon, he felt himself falling through air with nothing underneath him. It wasn’t an unfamiliar situation, he was used to it from all the training that he did. With one hand, Shouyo tore off the pendant around his neck before holding that same hand out in front of him.

_“Ry—“_

Before he managed to finish the incantation, he felt something grip his ankle, dangling him in mid-air. Shouyo looked up and grinned when he saw the familiar shadow hand wrapped around his ankle that was now gently lowering him to the ground. The caster of the shadow himself was hidden among the trees that framed the park.

“Do you have any idea how reckless that was?” Kenma hissed. He was still dressed up in the clothes he wore to the family dinner. Shouyo grinned and stood up.

“You really do always catch me in the nick of time.”

“You there! Stop!” one of the guards boomed from the building above them. Without looking back, Shouyo gripped Kenma’s hand and ran, using the trees around them as camouflage.

 

…

 

“After drawing the pentagram just place the object in the middle and then begin the chant,” Koutarou murmured. He looked down at the pentagram he just drew on the floor of his attic with chalk and walked around it, double-checking for any breaks in the lines or runes that he misplaced.

“Looks just like the picture, right?” he said to himself, holding up a picture of a pentagram he printed out on his computer. Finally, when he was satisfied, he stepped back with a grin. ‘Nice job, Koutarou,’ he told himself. His fingers tingled with excitement as he took out a ring from his pocket, made of pure gold and shaped like a coiling snake with emerald chips for eyes. The ring had been with his mother for years before she passed it on to Koutarou before she died. And now, it was being put to good use.

Koutarou placed the ring in the center of the pentagram, taking care not to step on any of the lines he just drew, and then walked a few steps back before pulling out a sheet of paper where he wrote down the instructions. The next step was to read out the incantation in what appeared to be Latin (or Greek, Koutarou wasn’t sure) and apparently, if he did everything right, the Heroic Servant who owned the ring was supposed to appear. Or not. After all, Koutarou only got the instructions off the internet.

He didn’t even know why he was doing all of this. Koutarou wasn’t even a mage in the first place, just an ordinary guy with ordinary abilities. But ever since he was young, Koutarou had been fascinated with mages and magic. He spent hours reading books about their great adventures and watching videos of magic duels on the internet. Just like almost everyone else, he had his own dreams of becoming a great and powerful mage as well. And those dreams just stayed dreams.

Until he heard about the Grail War.

Koutarou’s fingers tingled slightly with excitement as he unfolded the paper with the incantation on it. “Calm down, Kou,” he chastised himself. “You won’t be able to say the incantation properly that way.” He looked down at his set-up and inhaled a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Part of him didn’t expect the summoning to actually work, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t filled with hope that it would turn out right.

Koutarou opened his mouth and began to chant the incantation.

 

…

 

“Finished with the pentagram?” Tooru asked, walking out to the backyard while carrying a small, wooden chest in his arms.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Iwaizumi nodded. He was kneeling in the grass with an open can of paint beside him. A summoning pentagram was painted on the grass in white. Tooru stood behind Iwaizumi to double-check what he drew.

“Hmm… I’m surprised. Not bad, Iwa-chan,” he teased.

“Shut up,” Iwaizumi deadpanned, standing up and flicking him on the forehead. “How are those protective wards, Yahaba-san?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at the young mage who was busy murmuring some incantations to strengthen the protective wards Tooru placed around the house.

“Just finished,” Yahaba answered, turning back and walking towards the two of them.

“Excellent,” Tooru grinned, already sensing the effect of the reinforced wards. He could already tell that having Yahaba Shigeru on their side was going to come in handy. He crouched down in the grass and opened the wooden chest, carefully pulling out its contents. Five small, porcelain statuettes of a few Shinto gods and last of all, a wooden mask.

“Amulets?” Yahaba said, picking one of the statuettes up and holding it up to his face.

“To place at each point of the pentagram,” Tooru explained. “They’re quite powerful ones actually, they can redirect the mana coming from the Grail to our pentagram for the summoning.”

“Smart move,” Yahaba smirked.

“You have no idea how hard it was to get these,” Iwaizumi shook his head and picked up a few of the statuettes before placing them at each point of the pentagram.

“And last of all, the item to call upon the Servant,” Tooru said, holding up the mask. It was carved out of wood and painted in black and gray to look like a dog’s head. He carefully set the mask down in the center of the pentagram, careful not to step on any of the painted lines.

“Which Servant Class is it going to be part of?” Yahaba asked.

“Oh, you’ll see for yourself soon, Shigeru-chan,” Tooru smiled.

“Is it time?” Iwaizumi asked, raising his eyebrows at him.

“It will be, in a few minutes,” he answered, standing beside Iwaizumi. Tooru reached out and squeezed his best friend’s hand. He could feel his heart thudding in his chest and wondered if the same thing was happening with Iwaizumi.

“It’s finally happening, Iwa-chan,” he said softly, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

“It is,” Iwaizumi nodded, squeezing his hand back. Everything was in place, everything was ready. This was the moment that Tooru and Iwaizumi had been for all their lives. When he closed his eyes, Tooru could sometimes still see the Iwaizumi Mansion in flames in front of him and feel the bitter taste of defeat in his mouth. He was a helpless child back then, too weak to actually do anything. But not anymore.

“It’s time,” Yahaba said. Tooru let go of Iwaizumi’s hand and stepped closer to the pentagram. The air felt charged with electricity. Tooru could feel his own mana threatening to burst out of him. He inhaled a deep breath and tried to control it.

Then, the summoning ritual began.

 

…

 

“So you have it then? Both of them?” Kenma asked, panting to catch his breath. The guards didn’t chase them that far and the two of them easily lost them.

“You bet!” Shouyo grinned, pulling out the large spearhead that was still underneath his clothes before presenting it to his friend. “A spearhead from the Black Panther’s main weapon.”

“Much heavier than I thought it would be,” Kenma muttered, running his fingers carefully over the weapon. It was probably one and half feet long with a sharp, curved edge made out of cut and polished steel. Shouyo imagined how many lives that thing must have taken.

“You got the scabbard too,” Kenma said, pointing to the scabbard still in Shouyo’s hand.

“Yeah. The sword was much heavier than I thought it would be so… I accidentally dropped it,” he chuckled sheepishly. The scabbard came from a sword that was probably almost as tall as Shouyo himself. It was made out of black leather, polished until it gleamed, with geometric designs embroidered on it in gold and silver thread. A scabbard fit for the sword of a king.

“You could have really been hurt you know?” Kenma frowned. “But let’s talk about that later. It’s almost midnight.”

“Right,” Shouyo nodded. The two of them were in the woods that separated Fuyuki City from the nearby province. Nobody ever went there, which made it a good place to establish a hideout. Shouyo and Kenma walked to a cave built into the foot of a nearby hill. The pentagrams had already been drawn on the cave floor in red paint. They had picked a place where the mana fields were strongest to make the summoning  ritual easier to do. Shouyo placed the scabbard in the center of one of the pentagrams while Kenma did the same with the spearhead in the other. Then they stood back to back, each right in front of their respective pentagrams.

“You remember how to do it, right?” Kenma said. Shouyo could hear the worry in his voice. “Control and focus your mana to the center of the pentagram and then chant the incantation. You remember the incantation, right?”

“Yes, Kenma,” Shouyo chuckled at his friend. His heart was hammering in his chest with excitement. He was certain that Kenma’s was too.

“Just yell if you need help,” Kenma added. “If it doesn’t work, there’s always a next time.”

“Yeah, in the next thirty years,” Shouyo laughed. He looked down and gripped Kenma’s wrist. “We can do this. I know we can,” he said more seriously.

“Yeah,” he felt Kenma nod behind him. “Shall we start?” Shouyo let go of his hand.

“Let’s start.”

 

…

 

_“Katheúdō.”_

In a matter of seconds, Tadashi’s mother closed her eyes and her body went slack as she fell asleep on the couch. Tadashi walked over and switched off the television before going up to his room. He knew that his mother hardly cared about what he did but even so, Tadashi didn’t want any disturbance while he performed the summoning ritual.

He locked the door behind his room when he went in and stood on a chair to open the hatch in his ceiling. A wooden ladder leading to the attic above his room unfolded and landed on the floor. Tadashi used it to climb up before pulling the ladder back up once he was inside.

The entire room was completely dark except for a candle that he left by the window. Tadashi blinked a few times to get his eyes used to the darkness before standing up and taking the candle. A five-pointed pentagram was drawn on the wooden floor of the room with white chalk. On each of the points was a small, scrying bowl filled with a mixture of water and oil. When he looked at his entire set-up, Tadashi couldn’t help but feel a shred of doubt that it was too inadequate for him to actually summon a Servant, a powerful one at the least. Usually, mages would place amulets or anything heavily charged with mana on each of the pentagram’s points to enhance their mana. Tadashi had none of those so he had to make do with scrying bowls used for divination. They helped channel his mana but not enhance it.

But he had no other choice.

“Guess I’ll just have to hope for the best,” he sighed. He sat down on the floor in a lotus position, with his legs crossed over each other, and closed his eyes. Meditation was something that he did often to help strengthen his mana circuits. Now, Tadashi tried to channel them into the pentagram, using the scrying bowls to maintain an even, uninterrupted flow. He chanted out a simple incantation in Latin again and again, adding more and more mana to the pentagram as he continued. The longer he chanted, the more mana he felt being pulled out of him. Tadashi was exhausted but he didn’t stop the chant.

After a few moments, his Servant appeared before him.

 

…

 

Daichi could feel the intensity of his mother’s gaze on him as she studied his every move. He tried not to let it show that it bothered him as he carefully made the preparations for the summoning. Meiko Sawamura, the head of the Sawamura family and his mother, stood near their house with her arms crossed over her chest. No one else was around, not even her young assistant, Misao Hitoka who she abruptly sent home after she did her errands. Daichi assumed that it was because she didn’t trust anyone else in bearing witness to her son summoning his Servant for the Grail War. His mother didn’t trust anyone, except for Daichi.

He planted his palm on the ground and a pentagram appeared, the lines burnt into the grass. Then, he stood up and walked to his mother. She smiled at him and held out the box that contained the artifact for his summoning: Sugawara Koushi’s crown. “You know what to do, son,” she said. Daichi looked up at her and nodded. It was hard to miss the hungry look in his mother’s eyes. If Daichi messed up here she wouldn’t forgive him.

He picked up the delicate, silver crown and carried it over to the pentagram burnt on the grass, carefully placing it in the center before stepping back. _“’Nrgyh,”_ he uttered and flames appeared on each of the pentagram’s five points. Unlike the usual bright orange color, these flames were a much darker red, almost like blood. They were charged with his mana.

Daichi pressed his palms together and focused his mana, imagining it flowing through the five points of the pentagram. He could feel the mana fields around him charged with power. The flames grew brighter and bigger until they resembled columns of fire. And once he reached his peak, he began to chant.

The pentagram glowed brightly until it became one full circle of light with columns of fire surrounding it. Daichi held up an arm to shield his eyes, still not breaking away from the chant. He sent forth a burst of his own mana and then the light died down.

Daichi fell to his knees, breaking away from the chant and panting for breath. His mana circuits felt as if they were sucked dry. The flames were gone. The pentagram was now just a circle of burnt grass. But those weren’t the only things that changed.

In the middle of the circle of grass stood a man dressed in a long, flowing, purple and silver kimono. His silver hair shone in the dark, almost as bright as the silver crown that was now placed upon his head. And his face… Daichi was completely taken by surprise at just how beautiful it was.

Before him stood his Heroic Servant. Sugawara Koushi, the Silver Emperor.

 

…

 

A hooded figure stood beside one of the trees in the courtyard of the Sawamura Mansion. The protective wards surrounding the rest did little to detect her presence. The invisibility spell around her prevented both of the Sawamuras from seeing her so she was free to stand and watch the summoning ritual happen.

‘So, he managed to summon Sugawara Koushi,’ she thought. There was no surprise there, Daichi was a pretty powerful mage. Almost as powerful as his mother, Meiko Sawamura. They would be a hard team to defeat.

Satisfied with what she’s seen, the girl turned and exited the residence, walking past the guards unseen. The protective spell she cast on herself was a powerful one, passed through her small family for generations. It was how she managed to steal from the museum.

Once she was at a good distance away from the Sawamura Mansion, she dropped both the protective and invisibility spell. As soon as she did, her Servant appeared before her.

“Shimizu-san,” she greeted.

“My lady,” the dark-haired woman bowed before her. Shimizu Kiyoko, a Servant of the Assassin class and a member of the _Yoru no Ken_. She was summoned just a few hours ago. The mana fields weren’t especially strong but the girl knew how to manage.

“Have you gotten the needed information?” she asked.

“Yes, my lady,” Shimizu answered.

“Please, don’t call me that,” the girl shook her head.

“How shall I address you then?” Kiyoko asked, her face was stoic and emotionless.

“Yachi. You may call me that,” Hitoka ordered. That was her name. Yachi Hitoka, not Misao Hitoka. Misao was just a stage name, a play on words for what she really was.

“Yachi-sama then,” Shimizu nodded.

“Have all the Servants been summoned?” Hitoka asked, resuming her walk down the empty street. Shimizu followed behind her.

“Yes, Yachi-sama.”

“Excellent.” Hitoka smiled, pulling down the hood of her cloak and letting her short, blonde hair spill around her shoulders. The rest of them weren’t important, they could all fight and kill each other for all she cared. But the most important thing for her was that she was going to be the one to bring down the entire Sawamura family, and she was going to join a deadly competition just to do it. Hitoka didn’t want them dead, that was too easy. She wanted them disgraced, their name raked through the mud.

Seven Servants. Seven Mages. Hitoka and Shimizu were just two of the pieces in this deadly game. Two pieces fighting for the top.

And with that, the Grail War began.


	2. i shall come at your call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Revolutions and wars are the same. You don’t win them without spilling blood.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter yay! Sorry it took quite a long time I had a bit of a writer's block while making this. I was actually supposed to post this yesterday but I fell asleep while editing (at least I din't delete it or anything haha). So I hope you all enjoy this chapter since there's more characters now. Please comment or leave kudos if you liked it!

**obey**

comply with the command, direction, or request of (a person or a law); submit to the authority of

_va_ _ḻ_ _iyo_ _ḻ_ _uku-tal_ **|** _trai_ **|** _eisakoúō_ **|** _cóng_ **|** _hʼzyn_ **|** _obedire_ **|** _ṭ_ _āʿa_

* * *

 

 

‘Where… am I?’ Kei wondered, blinking a few times and finding his cheek pressed against a wooden floor. He tries to move his body and is surprised when he finds out that he actually has a body, well, a physical one at least. Back inside the dimension he was sucked in he had no body, just a spirit, a stream of consciousness. And then he felt something wrap around him, tugging him out of the dimension and now, he was here. Kei knew he had been summoned, that was the only logical explanation for it.

“Whoa… I-I actually did it. I summoned my own Servant!” a voice said. It sounded like man. Kei groaned and tried to push himself up. Right on the wooden floor underneath him was a pentagram drawn in chalk. ‘So I was right, it is a summoning,’ he thought, looking up to face the Master who had summoned him.

“And there’s the Command Seal! I… I actually did it!”

A young man was seated right in front of the pentagram where Kei was. He had a thin, lanky frame with freckles dotting his arms, legs, and face and mop of black hair. He was wearing nothing except a white t-shirt and black shorts. His eyes were wide with what seemed to be shock or excitement as he looked from his hand where the Command Seals were and at Kei.

His face, it looked familiar. Kei frowned, trying to remember if he really had seen someone like him before. A picture flashed in his head and disappeared before Kei could actually recall what it was.

“You must be my Master then,” Kei finally spoke up. He realized just then how undignified he looked, lying in the middle of that pentagram as if someone just dropped him there. He stood up shakily to his feet and tried to smooth out his clothes. He was thankful that he had clothes though. Other than a pair of black slacks and a maroon button-up shirt, he also had a long black coat that went past his knees.

“R-right,” his Master nodded and stood up. “My name is Yamaguchi Tadashi, a student, or… ex-student I guess, of Fuyuki Academy. And you are…”

“…Kei… Tsukishima Kei,” he said slowly, somehow struggling to remember what his name was. In fact, that was one of the only things he remembered at the moment.

“Tsukishima Kei…” Yamaguchi repeated. “I’ve never heard your name before,” he muttered and cocked his head. “Servants are usually the spirits of powerful figures from both the past and the future. Tsukishima Kei certainly doesn’t seem like someone from history so maybe…” Yamaguchi paused and looked at Kei.

“Do you have any past memories?” he asked.

Kei bit his lip and tried to concentrate again. Surely he had something he could remember besides his name. ‘Think, think Kei,’ he mentally told himself. Nothing came up. He looked at Yamaguchi standing there, waiting expectantly for an answer.

“Well, I’d say you came from the future. Your clothes definitely look like it, and your eyeglasses. But it would be nice to know who you are,” he sighed. “Oh! This might help you remember.” Yamaguchi stepped inside the pentagram and plucked something from the floor behind Kei. “It was probably yours, I used it to summon you.”

He took Kei’s hand in his and pressed something that felt like a metal disk into his palm. Kei held it up in front of his face. It was a silver medallion with something etched on the surface. He lightly traced his fingers over it.

“My dad gave it to me,” Yamaguchi said. “It’s a constellation of the—“

“Big Dipper,” Kei finished, blinking in surprise at what he said.

“That’s right,” Yamaguchi nodded. “Seems like you know your constellations,” he smiled. Kei stared down at the medallion and then back at him. There was a nagging sensation in his head. The medallion did feel familiar, just like Yamaguchi’s face. There was a connection there that Kei was struggling to find.

_Protect him_

Suddenly, those words rang sharply in his mind. Kei dropped the medallion.

_Protect Tadashi_

“Tsukishima-san?” Yamaguchi asked, holding on to his arm. “Is something wrong? Tsukishima-san?”

Kei closed his eyes as a series of images flooded into his brain. And before Kei could get a grasp of those images that might have been memories, they disappeared, flying out of reach.

Then, he blacked out.

 

…

 

‘So, I’ve been summoned again,’ Keiji thought as he materialized in the middle of a small room. He had been summoned for the Grail War at least once before, he knew that. But his participation in the Grail War was quite short. His previous Master wasn’t exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer.

He found himself in what appeared to be a bedroom, judging by the presence of the bed near a wall. There was also a small ‘television’ set against the wall near it, a desk, and a few bookshelves. Keiji immediately guessed that he was currently in a more modern era since his previous Master had the same things in his room as well. Sitting on the floor in front of him was a young man, presumably his Master, looking up at him with wide eyes. Keiji raised an eyebrow and cocked his head at him. He had a curious appearance. The man had black-and-white striped hair, which he probably used some kind of spell on, and amber-colored eyes. Other than that, he didn’t seem to be pretty powerful.

“Are you the one who summoned me?” Keiji decided to ask, raising an eyebrow at the man.

“I… I… me?” the man blinked and pointed to himself.

“Was it you who summoned me? Were you instructed by someone else to summon me?” Keiji repeated, trying to sound as patient as possible. The latter option seemed more realistic, there was no way that person could summon a Servant like Keiji.

“I… I did,” the man nodded, appearing as if he was finally breaking out of his stupor. “But I didn’t think it would actually work. I’m not a mage or anything.”

“Then how did you—Oh…” Keiji stopped when he looked down at the pentagram he was standing on. Unlike a normal five-pointed pentagram, this one had seven points. Keiji knelt down and ran his fingers over the lines. It was well-drawn as well, not a smudge or anything in sight. Maybe his Master wasn’t that much of a dunce after all. But he was probably gullible enough as well for Keiji to carry out his own plan.

“I used that ring on your finger too,” the man pointed at his hand. Keiji looked down and true to his word, there it was. A coiled up snake on his ring finger. Keiji hated the sight of it there. He removed it and placed it in his pocket.

“So, you’ve decided to join the Grail War then,” Keiji stood back up. “What is your name?”

“Bokuto,” the man quickly answered. “Bokuto Koutarou. What’s your name?”

“Akaashi Keiji. A Heroic Servant of the Holy Grail,” Keiji said, meeting Bokuto’s eyes with his. “And by the contract of the Command Seals, I am bound to serve you in this war.”

 

…

 

Kageyama Tobio.

He was born in Japan and raised in a foreign Western country before being sent back home. His family was assassinated when he was a boy and being the only heir left, he was crowned king at the young age of sixteen. He ruled for four years, until the day he died fighting in a war against his kingdom’s enemies.

Shouyou had learned about his story once in a History class, the only time he actually paid attention to the lecturer.  It interested him that a boy could rule a kingdom by himself at such a young age. At sixteen, Shouyou barely even accomplished anything, all he had were dreams. He spent a good amount of time reading about Kageyama Tobio’s battles against the rival kingdoms and how he ruled his own kingdom. But no matter how great a ruler he was, his reign and life came to an abrupt end.

And here he was. The great Kageyama Tobio, standing on the pentagram before him. He was dressed in full-body armor except for the helm which he had in his left hand. His right hand gripped the handle of his sword in his scabbard. He had short, black hair and dark blue eyes that scanned over Shouyou.

The summoning ritual had worked and now, he had his own Heroic Servant. He was in the Grail War.

“You must be my Master, the one who summoned me,” Kageyama spoke in a deep but loud voice that echoed throughout the cave. Shouyou nodded, still too stunned to speak. Kageyama drew his sword and planted it on the ground before kneeling down behind it and gripping the hilt.

“I am Kageyama Tobio, First of His Name, Son of Kageyama Hisoka, Twenty-Fifth King of Kitagawa,” he proclaimed. “And by the contract of the Command Seals by the Holy Grail, I pledge my sword and my service to you.”

“I… I accept your service,” Shouyou bowed, not quite sure of what to do in this situation. It wasn’t every day that his favorite hero from history knelt down and pledged his service to him. But he should have been prepared for this kind of situation as well. Even when he was kneeling down in front of him, Kageyama still had a very strong presence. It felt as if power was radiating from him in waves. Shouyou backed up a step and held his hand out in search for Kenma’s wrist.

“Hey…” Kenma answered, his back pressed against Shouyou’s.

“I summoned my Servant,” he swallowed. “You have yours too, right?”

“Yeah,” he felt Kenma nod. Shouyou turned around and sure enough, a man was in the center of Kenma’s pentagram as well. Kuroo Tetsurou was his name, if Shouyou remembered correctly. Kenma had personally chosen his Servant as well. He stood a great deal taller than Shouyou, maybe a few inches taller than Kageyama as well. His hair was black and spiked up in different directions and he wore a black, leather vest that exposed his muscled arms, and matching pants and boots. But what caught Shouyou’s eye the most was the spear he wielded. The shaft was almost as tall as Kuroo and the spearhead that Shouyou stole from the museum was attached to the end. ‘That could probably slice someone in half…’ he thought, feeling a mixture of both awe and fear. He wondered if Kenma knew just how scary Kuroo was before he summoned him.

“So, I’m back here again for another Grail War,” Kuroo said in a casual, laid-back tone. His eyes landed on Kenma and Shouyou, still standing in front of their pentagrams, and then at Kageyama who was now standing up.

“I haven’t seen you before,” Kuroo cocked his head at him. “But I can tell you’re a Servant of the Saber class.”

“I haven’t seen you before either,” Kageyama remarked, narrowing his eyes at Kuroo. Shouyou could sense a hint of tension in the air as the two Servants eyed each other.

“So if you were summoned by this guy,” Kuroo said, pointing at Kageyama first then at Shouyou. “Then you must have summoned me,” he finished, his finger landing on Kenma.

“Y-yes…” Kenma nodded, his voice shaky and barely audible. “M-my name is Kozume Kenma, and I’m your Master.” He held up his hand and showed Kuroo the Command Seals on the back of his palm. His Servant raised an eyebrow and bent down until his face was only inches away from Kenma’s.

“Now, what business do you have with the Holy Grail?” he asked.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Master,” Kageyama spoke up. Shouyou turned around to face him. “But may I also ask your purpose for joining the Grail War?” His sword was still drawn. _Hogosha_ was its name; made of special, castle-forged steel and blessed with spells by powerful mages.

“Are you planning to make the two of us duel already?” Kuroo spoke behind him. He lifted his spear and pointed the tip in Kageyama’s direction. “Because that’s alright with me,” he smirked. Kageyama got into a stance and lifted his sword.

“No, the two of you are not fighting each other,” Shouyou stepped in, looking at the two of them. The fear he felt earlier faded away surprisingly quick. He was intimidated by both Kageyama and Kuroo, but that was soon replaced with confidence when he realized that they were serving him and Kenma. They needed that kind of power on their side if they were going to win the Grail War.

Shouyou could feel himself trembling with excitement.

“Kenma and I are allies,” he said. “So that means the two of you are allies as well.”

“Well that clears everything up,” Kuroo said, lowering his spear but still refusing to put it down. “So where are our enemies?”

“We haven’t found them yet,” Kenma spoke up beside Shouyou. “But some of our other competitors should have summoned their Servants already.”

“We should be looking for them soon,” Kageyama suggested. He hasn’t drawn his sword either.

“So anyone who isn’t us, we kill, right?” Kuroo said, looking at Kenma.

“No,” he shook his head. “That isn’t how we do things.”

“So how are we going to do things?”

“Lower your weapons,” Shouyou ordered. Kageyama frowned at him slightly and Shouyou gave him a single nod of his head, signaling that it was alright for him to do so. Kuroo pulled his spear back and Kageyama gave in by sheathing his sword as well.

“Kenma and I joined the Grail War for one purpose and one purpose only,” Shouyou said. “Our goal is to use the Grail to bring peace to the world. No more wars, hunger, or strife. No more of the powerful taking from the weak. No more villages being burned down and children left to be orphaned.” Shouyou clenched his fist at the harsh, stinging memory. Kenma squeezed his hand reassuringly.

“We are going to make the world a better place,” he continued. “And we will not have any casualties, nor will we harm other people.”

“A just and righteous cause,” Kageyama said nodding his head in what seemed like approval. “Something I will gladly fight for.”

“And I as well,” Kuroo added. “Since I am bound by the Command Seals to do so anyway.”

Shouyou felt his chest swell with pride as he looked at the Servants he and Kenma summoned. ‘A good, strong team,’ he thought. ‘This is a good start.’

“We’re nearly there, Shouyou,” Kenma said softly, turning to him and flashing a small, but rare smile. Shouyou grinned back.

“Let’s win this war.”

 

…

 

Kyoutani Kentarou lunged at him the moment Tooru completed the ritual. His speed caught him off-guard and before he knew it, a sharp metal katana was headed straight towards his head. Luckily, Tooru’s best friend was someone who knew just how to deal with high-speed attacks.

In the blink of an eye, Iwaizumi was right in front of Tooru, aiming a fist at the Servant. His punch connected and he was sent flying towards the other side of the backyard. Kyoutani recovered quickly and with his hand still maintaining a strong grip on his katana, he ran back towards the two mages. This time, Tooru was ready.”

 _“L’kb,”_ he uttered, holding his outstretched arm in Kyoutani’s direction. The spell slowed down his movements, as if he was being videoed with a slow-motion camera. It was a handy spell, one that Tooru used often. However, it caused his own movements to slow down as well, leaving him vulnerable and open to attack. The advantage was still in his hands since he had Yahaba and Iwaizumi on his side as well.

Yahaba walked towards Kyoutani who was still attempting to swing his katana and tore off his mask. At his distance, Tooru could see the anger and ferocity in the Servant’s face. It sent a small chill down his spine followed by a mixed feeling of both fear and excitement. Yahaba pressed his palm against his forehead and uttered a sleeping spell. Kyoutani went limp and Tooru undid his own spell.

“Was it really a good idea to summon someone from the Berserker class?” Iwaizumi asked, walking towards Kyoutani’s unconscious form on the grass.

“He’s from the Berserker class?” Yahaba turned to look at Tooru with wide eyes.

“Yes, he’s from the Berserker class,” Tooru nodded and ran a hand through his hair.

“Couldn’t you have summoned an Archer or Caster type of Servant?” Yahaba asked.

“I’ve asked him the exact same thing,” Iwaizumi added, grunting and lifting Kyoutani’s body onto his shoulder.

“Excellent question, Shigeru-chan,” Tooru grinned. “True, a Servant of a different class would be much easier to control and manage. Developing a strategy and fighting as a team would not be so hard as well. Kyoutani Kentarou, or the Mad Dog as he was called before, would counter our fighting style as team. And that’s exactly what we need.”

“An odd piece?” Yahaba frowned.

“Exactly, an odd piece,” Tooru nodded. “Even though he was a samurai, or at least trained to be a samurai, Kyoutani Kentarou’s fighting style was more free-formed, relying mostly on speed and strength for his attacks. In other words, a close-combat offensive type of fighter. Having such an ‘odd piece’ in our team may be inconsistent, but that means our enemies would have a harder time fighting us if we’re so different.

“Iwa-chan’s pretty much a close-combat fighter as well, combat magic’s his specialty as you’ve seen. And with the two of us elite magic-users together, our team still has some balance in it,” Tooru finished with a wink.

“I see,” Yahaba nodded.

“Oi, Shittykawa!” Iwaizumi called out. “What do I with this guy? Before we wake him up, I mean.”

“Leave him in the guest room on the second floor,” Tooru answered. “We can place a binding spell on him before he wakes up, just so he’s kept under control when we talk to him.”

“We shouldn’t be wasting a Command Seal this early on in the war either,” Yahaba added. Tooru looked down and sure enough, the Command Seals had already been branded on the back of his hand. His looked like a roughly drawn sketch of a person’s body within a circle. The color was a dark red that looked almost like blood. The Command Seal, the contract that binds Servant and Master in the Grail War. Tooru felt a smirk play on his lips. He was now officially a participant, one among the other contestants competing for the Holy Grail.

“Hey, Trashykawa,” Iwaizumi gripped his arm. Tooru snapped out of his thoughts and turned to his friend.

“What is it?”

“Don’t ‘what is it?’ me,” Iwaizumi snapped, glaring at him. “Why didn’t you do anything right away when this guy came to attack you? You could have cast a spell or something, instead of standing there like an idiot. Just how reckless are you?”

“I didn’t need to do anything,” Tooru shrugged and flashed Iwaizumi a smile. “I knew you were going to come in and save me anyway. You always do Iwa-chan.”

“You shouldn’t place your trust in me so much, idiot,” Iwaizumi muttered and let go of his arm.

‘I trust you with my life,’ Tooru thought but he held himself back from saying it out loud. What’s the point in saying it anyway if Iwaizumi wasn’t going to believe him? Instead, he stretched his arms out and yawned.

“Well, I’m going to hit the sack already,” he said, not even trying to pretend that he was already exhausted. Although it didn’t seem like it at first, the summoning ritual had sucked up most of his mana.

“You better,” Iwaizumi scoffed and walked into the house. “You look terrible.”

“Mean Iwa-chan!” Tooru called after him. “You don’t look much better yourself.”

“I’ll be going to bed as well,” Yahaba said, walking up beside him.

“Right, it’s a big day tomorrow,” Tooru agreed and walked inside the house, closing the door after Yahaba went in. “We’re going to need all the rest we can get.”

“We will,” Yahaba said in a much quieter voice. Tooru paused, detecting the tone in his voice. Yahaba looked up at him.

“Do you feel it?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Yahaba nodded. “It’s not that easy to detect, but I can feel that it’s definitely there. The Grail, it’s awake.”

Tooru didn’t heavily take up Sensory Magic, but he knew enough to detect discrepancies in the mana fields. What Yahaba was saying was true. There was something different about them now. Almost as if they were heightened. And that could only be explained by the awakening of the Grail.

 

…

 

“Sugawara Koushi,” Daichi’s mother spoke and walked forward to stand beside her son. “We meet again.”

“You’ve changed quite a lot, Meiko-san,” Sugawara said, flashing a smile at her but with his eyes landing on Daichi’s. “How long has it been, thirty years give or take?”

“It has. And you haven’t changed at all.”

“That’s what the Grail does to you,” Sugawara shrugged and walked towards to the two of them. There was something graceful about the way he walked. With his feet hidden in the folds of his kimono, it looked as if he was floating towards them.

“This must be your son then,” he said, turning towards Daichi.

“Sawamura Daichi,” he introduced himself, realizing that he’d been staring at Sugawara the entire team and attempting to break his gaze.

“A pleasure to meet you,” Sugawara bowed down low in front of him. “It appears you’re my Master as well. I’m at your service, Sawamura-san.” Daichi felt his mother’s hand on his shoulder.

“You’re at _our_ service,” she corrected him. “Daichi may be the one who summoned you but I will still be the leader of this operation.”

“Of course, Meiko-san,” Sugawara nodded.

“Very good then. I’m glad we understand each other,” Daichi’s mother smiled before turning around and heading back inside the house.

“After you,” Daichi said, gesturing in front of him. Manners and etiquette was something that his mother didn’t bother to teach him but he never neglected to learn it anyway. He thought of it as a useful skill for someone who was going to be the future heir of the Sawamura family. The gesture seemed to please Sugawara too who smiled at him before entering the house first.

“The other Grail servants have no doubt been summoned as well,” his mother continued. “Our plan of action begins tomorrow. And that starts with us firing everyone else who works here.”

“Wait, what?” Daichi froze, staring at his mother in disbelief. “Everyone?”

“Yes,” his mother nodded, seemingly unbothered by her son’s reaction. “The maids, the bodyguards, the drivers. Everyone. Maybe even Misao as well, although she is quite helpful.”

“But… why?” Daichi asked, walking towards his mother. “They’ll… they’ll be jobless when they leave.” It wasn’t only that. Daichi had known and grown up with the other people of his household all his life. There was Hoseki-san, the old lady who ruled over the kitchens with an iron fist but always offered Daichi warm pastries whenever he stopped by the kitchens, Kazuo-san, the gardener who knew quite a lot about medicinal herbs and sometimes helped him with his Magical Healing homework, Kurose-san, his driver who never ran out of stories to tell while he drove him around the city. And Misao-san. His mother’s young assistant who was obviously gifted beyond her years.

“Wait, you’re not feeling sympathy for _them,_ are you?” she asked, scoffing at him. “Daichi, the Grail War has already begun. Do you know what that means? Spies! People out to bring our family down, to stop us from winning the Grail.” Her face melted into a smile and she put both of her hands on Daichi’s shoulders. “That’s the first rule of the Grail War. Trust no one. From now on, we’re only relying on each other. And Sugawara.”

“Alright,” Daichi looked down. He knew he was never going to win against his mother.

“Good,” she leaned forward and planted a kiss on his forehead. “I’ll be getting some sleep now. Will you show Sugawara-san to his rooms?” his mother said sweetly.

“Yes mother,” Daichi nodded. His mother gave him one last squeeze on the shoulder before heading off to her own rooms, leaving him and Sugawara behind. “This way,” Daichi said, motioning to Sugawara before leading him down one of the hallways. The Sawamura mansion was built in a traditional Japanese style with wood floors, sliding windows, and tatami mats inside the room. Daichi stopped by one of the guest rooms and opened the sliding door.

“I hope it’s to your liking,” he said, watching Sugawara walk inside and survey his surroundings. It was one of the largest guest rooms they had in the house. To the right was a slightly elevated floor that contained a large futon fit for four people that had about fifty pillows on top. In the center of the room itself was a low table and cushions to sit on. A door to the left led to the bathroom.

“There are changes of clothes for you in the closet,” Daichi informed him, watching Sugawara walk towards one of the windows and slide it open. “My room is just down the hall,” he added. Now that he realized it, his mother may have given Sugawara the guest room closest to his own room so that it would be easier to protect him. After all, their bodyguards were all going to be fired by tomorrow.

“She’s just like how she was from before,” Sugawara sighed and turned around to look at Daichi as he stood beside the window. The moonlight coming in made his hair shine even brighter and the gemstones embedded in his silver crown reflected the light back.

“If I may ask—“

“Ask away,” Sugawara chuckled and waved his hand. “I am your Servant after all.”

“Right,” Daichi nodded. “My mother told me that you weren’t a Servant she summoned yet you still obeyed her orders instead of your own Master’s. May I ask why?”

“That happened thirty years ago…” Sugawara said softly, leaning back against the window. “But time passes by so quickly once you’re in the Grail’s dimension that it feels just like yesterday…” He smiled to himself. “Well, let’s just say that Meiko-san had a much better purpose for the Grail than my own Master’s. Things would have gone better if she was the one who summoned me in the first place.

“But it seems like now, we all have a second chance at winning this war,” Sugawara arched an eyebrow at Daichi. “And you do know why your mother wants the Grail, don’t you?”

“Yes…” Daichi looked down. “She wants power.”

 

…

 

Koutarou knew that it wasn’t every day that a ‘Heroic Servant’ shows up in the middle of his bedroom after completing a summoning ritual, from the Internet of all places, and doing it successfully. So far, the only thing he knew about the so-called ‘Grail War’ was that seven ‘Masters’ are chosen to participate in it and that those ‘Masters’ had to summon ‘Servants’ as well in order to fight. If Koutarou knew more he would have given more thought to actually joining it. But such knowledge was usually more exclusive among mages.

So far though, Koutarou had no complaints. After all, who would have guessed that the Servant he summoned would be a really pretty guy.

And now, a few minutes after the incredibly successful summoning ritual, Koutarou found himself in the small kitchen of his house at one in the morning making tea. While waiting for the kettle to boil, he couldn’t help but sneak glances at Akaashi Keiji who was seated at the low table in his dining room, reading one of the books from his shelves.

“So…” Koutarou began, desperately searching his head for some kind of ice-breaker to start up a conversation. But what was he going to talk about? What did mages from the Medieval Era even talk about? Magic? No, Koutarou probably didn’t know nearly as much about magic as Akaashi did despite how many books he’s read about it. The state of the government? No way, Koutarou wasn’t even going to go there. Hobbies? Favorite music? The weather??

“Your metal teapot is making noise,” Akaashi suddenly spoke up, snapping Koutarou out of his thoughts.

“Huh?” he frowned.

“Your metal teapot,” Akaashi repeated, pointing at something in the kitchen.

“My—Oh shit!” Koutarou quickly turned around and sure enough, the kettle was already spilling hot water down its sides and blowing steam everywhere. He quickly turned off the stove and grabbed two mugs from the cupboard. He only had the sweet, powdered milk tea kind of tea and Koutarou sent a million prayers to whatever celestial being was in Heaven, hoping that Akaashi was going to like it. After preparing the tea, he placed the two steaming mugs on a tray and walked to the table.

“Here, I don’t really have tea leaves or anything but I hope you like this,” he said, placing a mug in front of Akaashi before sitting down at the table next to him. He was still reading the book so Koutarou took the chance to sneak a glance at him again.

Akaashi looked like he came straight out of the book ‘A History of Prominent Mages,’ and he probably did for all Koutarou knew. His eyes were a dark, emerald green and his brown, curly hair reminded Koutarou of dark chocolate. He was wearing a cloak with a hood up earlier when he was first summoned but now it was down, showing Koutarou more of his face as well as the metal circlet around his head. The cloak he wore had a dark burgundy color. Underneath that he had on a violet long-sleeved shirt with a high collar and loose-fitting white pants, kind of like what Koutarou saw kung-fu movie stars wearing.

“This book has a lot more pictures than words,” Akaashi spoke up, finally setting the book down on the table. Koutarou looked at the cover and saw that it was one of the manga volumes he read all the time.

“It’s called a manga,” he grinned, looking up at Akaashi. “It’s supposed to have a lot more pictures than words. I kind of like reading it more than regular books since it has pictures and the art is usually really cool. But I read books too, mostly ones about magic anyway. Those are the ones I like.”

“I see,” Akaashi nodded. He cocked his head at the mug before him and Koutarou blushed when he realized that it was the one that had a cartoon owl face painted on it. But Akaashi said nothing and instead lifted the mug up, blew off the steam that rose from the inside, and took a sip.

“Do you… like it?” Koutarou asked, biting his lip worriedly. “If not I can make—“

“This tastes good,” Akaashi said, raising his eyebrows at him. “It’s not like any tea I’ve tried before. This one’s much… sweeter. What did you call it again?”

“It’s called milk tea,” Koutarou said enthusiastically, feeling both relieved and happy that Akaashi liked it. “It’s not exactly tea since it’s not boiled leaves or anything. It’s in a powder that you just mix in with hot water.”

“Milk tea…” Akaashi mumbled before taking another sip. Koutarou could feel himself grinning like an idiot. There was something charming about how out-of-place the mug full of milk tea was with the sight of Akaashi, all dressed in his medieval-ish clothes. Koutarou took hold of his own mug and found himself looking again at the strange red mark on the back of his hand.

“This is… a Command Seal, right?” he asked, holding his hand up to show Akaashi.

“It is,” he nodded. “It’s a proof of our contract as Master and Servant in the Grail War.”

“So, I can kind of tell you what to do, right?” Koutarou said. “And you’ll have to obey.”

“I do,” Akaashi set down his mug on the table. “But, Servants still have a will of their own and sometimes, they choose not to obey their Master’s orders. And that’s where the Command Seal comes in. You can use them to force a Servant to obey you.” Koutarou’s Command Seal looked like three crescent moons intersecting one another.

“You can only use it three times,” Akaashi said. “Each time you use one, a part of it fades. So use it well.” He leaned back and cocked his head at Koutarou. “Do you really not know much about the Grail War?”

“No,” he smiled sheepishly and shook his head. “I do know the rules a bit though. Seven masters, seven Servants—“

“Seven classes of Servants,” Akaashi interrupted. “Did you know there was such a thing?”

Koutarou shook his head again. “No, don’t they all just use magic?”

“Yes, but each Servant belongs in a particular class that characterizes how they fight,” Akaashi explained. “There’s Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Berserker, and Assassin.”

“So, which one are you, Akaashi?” Koutarou asked.

“Me?” Akaashi’s lips curled into a small smirk. Koutarou gripped his mug even tighter and felt himself wince at the heat. “I’m from the Caster class.”

“Caster,” Koutarou repeated. “So, that means you specialize in magic, right?”

“Yes,” Akaashi nodded. “When I was alive, I was the Head Mage and adviser to the emperor. Of course, that’s all in the past now…” he said in a quieter voice.

“Now, if I might ask you a question, Bokuto-san…”

“Sure, go ahead,” Koutarou shrugged and placed his elbows on the table.

“Why did you join the Grail War?” Akaashi asked, fixating him with his eyes that Koutarou found hard to look away from.

“I… I wasn’t even sure that the ritual would work,” he said honestly, thinking that there was no use in trying to hide the truth anyway. “You probably know that I’m not a mage or anything. And the whole concept about the Grail War is still new to me.”

“But have you thought about what you’re going to actually do with the Grail?” Akaashi frowned slightly.

“I don’t even know that, I really didn’t think I would get this far,” Koutarou laughed and looked down at his tea mug. “But I thought that if I joined something like this then maybe… I would stop being just a nobody anymore.”

“A… nobody?” Akaashi repeated. “How are you a nobody? If you’re a nobody then you don’t exist at all.”

“A person who doesn’t matter,” Koutarou clarified. “I’m sorry, it sounds really dumb,” he shook his head and laughed half-heartedly. “I bet I seem like a pretty bad Master.” He wouldn’t blame Akaashi if he decided to walk out on him now. Summoning him was a lucky shot, but winning the Grail War was a completely different thing.

“It is not my right to judge my own Master’s desires,” Akaashi shook his head. “But I am bound to help you win this Grail War. Even if you don’t know what to do with the Grail as of now, it is my duty to help you win it.”

“You’re still on my side?” Koutarou asked, blinking at Akaashi in surprise. “But, our chances are basically close to zero and I can’t fight—“

“I’ll fight for you,” Akaashi smiled. “That’s what a Servant does. But I’ll still be needing your help at times.”

“Anything!” Koutarou stood up. “Just say whatever it is you need and I’ll do what I can to give you all the help you need.”

“Excellent,” Akaashi nodded. “The first thing I need to know is this: Which place has the most number of mages?”

 

…

 

‘Could it be possible that I did something wrong during the summoning ritual?’ Tadashi thought, biting his thumb as he paced his bedroom. Now and then he’d cast a worried glance at his bed where his servant, Tsukishima Kei, lay unconscious and unmoving. Tadashi couldn’t really see anything wrong with him, not physically anyway. But the fact that he didn’t know anything besides his own name and that he fainted right after he saw the medallion he was summoned with worried Tadashi the most.

As far as he knew, he did everything right. He had the pentagram drawn correctly, he had the artifact to summon the Servant with, he had an incantation that he knew he said correctly, and he had the scrying bowls to focus his mana. Tadashi sank to the floor and leaned back against the bed, searching his head for answers.

His gaze fell down to the Command Seals on the back of his right hand. Tadashi held it up in front of him. The mark was in the shape of a wheel with seven spokes. He calmed down a bit more at the sight of it. His Servant may be lying down unconscious on his bed, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a Master. Things might just go a bit slowly for him in the beginning but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a chance of winning in the end.

He’s made it this far. Now was definitely not the time to turn back.

Suddenly, he heard a loud noise that sounded like a cross between a gasp and a yell and when Tadashi turned around, he saw Tsukishima sitting up on the bed, clutching the covers tightly. His eyes were wide with fear and there were droplets of sweat running down his face. He almost looked like he ran a marathon.

Tadashi gripped his shoulder and bent to down to look him in the eye. “Tsukishima-san! Tsukishima-san, what happened?” Judging by the state he was in, Tsukishima seemed to have had a nightmare. Tadashi wondered if he had perhaps recalled a past memory of some sort.

“T-tadashi..?” Tsukishima stammered, frowning slightly. He was gazing at Tadashi strangely, as if he was just seeing him for the first time.

“Do you remember anything?” Tadashi asked. “Tsukishima, do you remember anything?” Tsukishima squeezed his eyes shut, looking as if he was trying his hardest to recall at least one detail, before opening them and shaking his head.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “It was there before, seconds ago, but now it disappeared again.”

“It’s alright,” Tadashi shook his head and smiled, trying not to sound disappointed. “There must be a good explanation as to why you don’t have your memories right now. I’ll try to look into how to get them back,” he said, sitting down on the bed beside Tsukishima.

“You don’t really have to though,” Tsukishima frowned. “My memory’s still a bit hazy but I still know how to fight. That’s more important since you are fighting in the Grail War after all.”

“Ah, right. Of course,” Tadashi nodded furiously.

“Do you have an action plan?” Tsukishima asked. Tadashi felt his cheeks heat up. He spent most of his time concentrated on actually learning how to successfully summon a Servant. He barely gave a thought as to what his action plan was going to be.

“I thought that it was better to maybe wait out first?” he said in a small voice. “The other Masters are no doubt going to battle each other so we could just—“

“Wait until most of them have destroyed each other before making your move?” Tsukishima finished. “What are you going to do if they find you and decide to attack?”

“Then I’ll fight back!” Tadashi said determinedly.

“How?” Tsukishima quickly cut him off. “Do you know what my skills are? What kind of fighter I am? What are you going to do if I’m incapacitated and you have to be the one to fight?” he said, firing off questions one by one. Tsukishima’s presence quickly grew more and more intimidating to Tadashi.

“I… I don’t know,” he gave in, hanging his head down slightly.

“Then why are you part of this war?” Tsukishima asked. Tadashi felt himself wince at the edge in his tone. It sounded vaguely like how Ryuunosuke would ask him why he went to Fuyuki Academy in the first place. ‘Why did I join the Grail War?’ he thought. Self-doubt wormed its way into his thoughts. It was there so often that Tadashi wasn’t surprised at its presence. But he knew that whenever he had his moments of self-doubt, determination was always there to set him back on his path. Tadashi looked down at his hand with the Command Seals on it. ‘I am a Master,’ he told himself. ‘I am a Master.’ He clenched his fist and looked up to face Tsukishima.

“I joined it because I’m going to win the Grail,” he said in a low voice. Tsukishima’s amber-colored eyes widened slightly in what Tadashi hoped was surprise. He kept his gaze steady and unwavering.

“I know what the Grail War is. I know that there are going to be other mages and Servants out there fighting each other in order to win the Grail. I know how dangerous it is and what the risks are. But I also know that the Grail is something that I want and I need and I joined this war to achieve all of that.

“You are my Servant, Tsukishima Kei, and by contract you are bound to my commands. You may not believe in my strengths now and I don’t blame you. But sooner or later, I will show you that I am worthy of being your Master,” Tadashi finished. A few beats of silence passed as he and Tsukishima stared each other down. Finally, Tsukishima broke eye contact by smiling and shaking his head. Tadashi’s heart fell. Maybe Tsukishima wasn’t going to take him seriously after all.

“What’s your first command then?” he spoke up. Tadashi looked up at him in surprise.

“My first command?”

“You’re my Master, aren’t you?” Tsukishima said, flashing him a hint of an amused smile. “And I’m your Servant. What’s your first command?” Tadashi felt himself grin.

“How do you fight?”

 

…

 

“Wait, you’re going to what!?” Hajime snapped, looking up at Oikawa in disbelief. His friend, however, didn’t seem perturbed at all by what he said earlier. Leaning against a kitchen counter in his pajamas and sipping tea from a mug, he looked like the picture of calm. Which is exactly why Hajime was taken by surprise at what he said.

“I knew you wouldn’t approve of it, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa sighed. “You never like my good ideas.” The exasperated tone in his voice made Hajime even angrier. He slammed his cereal bowl down on the counter.

“A good idea?!” Hajime said in a much louder voice. “Making Yahaba work together with Kyoutani is the exact opposite of a good idea. Have you forgotten the fact that he tried to kill you the moment he summoned you?”

“Of course I know that, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa rolled his eyes at him.

“And you’re going to make him work with Yahaba, the future heir to his family who his father kindly sent to help us,” Hajime added. “Absolutely not, Shittykawa. You’re not getting away with this one.” Hajime knew that Oikawa’s idea was completely ridiculous, but like all of his ideas, there was always good reason behind it. But knowing that still didn’t make him any more comfortable with the idea his friend proposed.

“You know about the Mad Dog’s history, right Iwa-chan?” Oikawa said, looking down at his cup of tea. “About how he killed his own master after he betrayed him.”

“Then he later killed his fellow comrades, earning him the title Mad Dog,” Hajime finished.

“Based on his history, I didn’t think he’d be all that comfortable with a new Master,” Oikawa smirked. “That attack was completely expected.”

“I shouldn’t have tried to save you then in the first place,” Hajime deadpanned.

“Mean Iwa-chan!” Oikawa stuck his tongue out at him. “But that means that I would be the worst person to work with Kyoutani, therefore it has to be either you or Yahaba.”

“Then let me work with him,” Hajime protested. “Why does it have to be Yahaba?”

“Because I need you with me, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa said seriously, looking up from his mug. “We’ve fought together ever since we were young. We both know how we move by heart and this fighting style is what’s going to save us. We can’t split up and you know that.”

Hajime clenched his fist and looked down. Oikawa was right again, of course. It frustrated him to no end. “Still,” he said. “We can’t risk getting Yahaba hurt either.”

“And I don’t plan for that to happen either,” Oikawa set his mug down. “The only way for Yahaba to not be attacked would be for Kyoutani to trust him completely.”

“How will you make that happen then?” Hajime crossed his arms. “Kyoutani isn’t exactly the trusting type. And don’t forget that Yahaba was the one who cast a sleep spell on him last night.”

“I’ll be sending him to his room later to talk to him,” Oikawa said. “Kyoutani will still be immobilized of course, and you’ll be there as well to keep an eye on things for a while. Yahaba will then work on making him believe that he could trust us, somehow, and that he’ll be working under Yahaba and not me.”

“But you’ll still technically be his Master,” Hajime pointed out.

“I have the Command Seals,” Oikawa shrugged. “But I’ll have to use them as little as possible in order to get Kyoutani to trust me just a little more. I’ll have him work with Yahaba more often too, so that he trusts him more.”

“I still think it’s a bad idea. There are too many things that can go wrong.”

“It’s the Grail War, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa said quietly. “We have to take these kinds of risks.” He reached forward and gripped Hajime’s wrist, looking him straight in the eye. “This war is what we’ve been preparing for all our lives. This is our chance to get back at those who have wronged us.” Hajime swallowed as he felt himself unable to look away from Oikawa’s gaze. They burned brightly, as bright as the fire that swallowed the home they grew up in and the life they lived before.

‘He’s right,’ Hajime realized, clenching his fist and looking down. They’ve lost too much for them to go back now. He inhaled a deep breath and nodded.

The years haven’t made either of them any kinder.

 

…

 

“So, I’m fired then?” Hitoka clarified. She was standing inside Sawamura Meiko’s large office, looking at the woman herself who was seated behind a large desk.

“Yes,” she nodded, lacing her fingers together. “The Grail War is a very dangerous thing to get involved in. Daichi didn’t like the idea of putting everyone here in harm’s way so we thought that the best thing to do would be to send everyone away, for their own protection of course. And by everyone, we mean you too, Misao.”

“I see,” Hitoka nodded, trying to make herself seem sad by looking down at the floor. In actuality, she predicted that this sort of thing was going to happen. Sawamura Meiko was a careful woman. Firing all of her staff was no doubt for the protection of her and Daichi. She heard the familiar scratch of pen on paper as Sawamura wrote something down and pretty soon, a check was pushed towards her on the desk.

“To help you get by for a while,” she said. “You were a very good assistant, Misao-san. I am still reluctant to let you go.”

Hitoka picked up the check and raised an eyebrow slightly at the number of zeroes on it. She looked up at Sawamura who was busy checking something on her tablet, a picture of perfect indifference. Only a Sawamura would be able to write a check for a large sum of money without batting an eye. Contempt rose like acid to the back of her throat but Hitoka swallowed it down. She instead concentrated on the fact that being fired from her job made her plans much easier to carry out.

“Thank you very much for the opportunity, Sawamura-san,” Hitoka bowed down low.

“You’re welcome,” Sawamura replied without looking up from her work. “Take care of yourself.” Hitoka pocketed the check and turned around to leave the room. The large courtyard outside the house was busy with people packing up to leave. Maids, gardeners, bodyguards, drivers, they were all here. Hitoka paused while walking down the steps when she saw Daichi shaking Kurose-san’s hand, no doubt saying goodbye to him.

Looking at him now, all warm smiles and friendly handshakes, Hitoka couldn’t help but see how different Daichi was from his mother. It made her wonder often if they were even related at all. She didn’t deny that Daichi had been kind to her as well while she still worked for them.

But in the end, he was still a Sawamura. He wasn’t going to be safe from what Hitoka was going to do to his family.

When Daichi finished saying goodbye to Kurose-san, she had disappeared.

 

…

 

_Kenma wasn’t surprised that nobody wanted to sit next to him in class. Almost every table besides his was occupied. Some even had five to six people crammed into one. ‘I guess it’s really that obvious,’ he thought, twirling a piece of his inky black hair with his finger. Everyone in the room was familiar with how a Kozume kid looked like. The fact that his family sigil was embroidered on the sleeve on all of his jackets made him that much easier to identify. His father insisted on such things. ‘The Kozume family is an old and highly respectable family,’ he always said. Kenma’s brothers wore the sigil on their sleeves with pride. Kenma wore it with shame._

_‘It’s a lot better than being at home,’ he told himself, mindlessly scratching at the wood on his desk. That was the thought that kept him going for the past few days as he got used to his new life in Fuyuki Academy. But sometimes he wasn’t sure which one really was better. Trapped in a home with a constricting family or in a place where everyone knew what you were and hated you for it._

_“Gah! Am I late?I hope I’m not late!”_

_A voice startled Kenma out of his thoughts but when he turned around he found himself even more surprised at what he saw. A boy, around his age probably but quite short in height, with a shock of orange hair slid into the seat next to him. He wore a white t-shirt and red pajama pants. The state of his clothing looked as if he had just jumped out of bed._

_“The class hasn’t started yet, has it?” the boy turned to Kenma, his eyes wide with panic._

_“Oh… uh, the professor isn’t here yet so…” he mumbled in reply, unsure of what exactly to say to somebody who just decided to sit next to him._

_“Ah! You’re right. That’s great, I’m safe this time,” the boy laughed and leaned back in his seat._

_“Hey, you there,” one of the students from the table beside them called out. Both Kenma and the boy he just met turned to look at him. The guy from the other table scooched to the right despite the entire table being full._

_“You can sit here if you want,” he offered. Kenma looked down, trying not to let anyone see the emotion on his face. So much for having at least one person sit next to him in class._

_“No, it’s fine. Your table seems pretty crowded already,” the boy declined. Kenma looked up at him in surprise._

_“It’s no problem, really,” the guy from the other table said. “Besides, you don’t want to sit next to that guy,” he added, shooting Kenma a look. “He’s a Kozume.”_

_“Kozume?” the orange-haired boy tilted his head. He turned around to look at Kenma and his eyes instantly landed on the sigil embroidered on his jacket sleeve. “Huh, I guess you are a Kozume.”_

_“That’s right,” the other guy said. “You know what his family does, right? Blood rituals and sacrifices. They’re heartless monsters who’d allow their own children to fight each other. They’re probably not even human.”_

_Kenma bit his lip and dug his nails into the wood of the desk, feeling every word hit him as hard as a sledgehammer. The blow that hit the hardest was the fact that every word he had heard was true an that he couldn’t deny it. His family was a part of who he is, stitched into him like the sigil on his jacket. Even after leaving his house they still followed him._

_“He looks pretty human to me,” the boy spoke up. “Just like everyone else here,” he turned around and smiled at Kenma who blinked in surprise._

_“Suit yourself, weirdo,” the guy scoffed and turned back around, leaving the two of them alone. Kenma’s head was spinning with the fact that someone he barely knew just defended him. Suddenly, the door opened and the professor strode briskly to the front of the classroom._

_“Sorry everyone, it seems I slept in a little today,” he laughed sheepishly._

_“Guess I’m not the only one,” the orange-haired boy snickered beside him. Kenma noticed how close he was sitting beside him, their elbows only a few centimeters apart from each other._

_“Now, please open your books to the first chapter. I hope all of you brought your books to class,” the professor added before turning around to write something on the blackboard. Kenma already had his book out and he watched from the corner of his eye as his seatmate rooted through his own bag._

_“I brought my Arabic spells book instead of my History one,” the orange-haired boy moaned. “I was in such a rush that I forgot…”_

_“…You want to share mine?” Kenma asked hesitantly. The boy’s eyes lit up._

_“Really? It’s not a problem for you?” he asked. Kenma shook his head and pushed the book slightly towards him. The boy grinned._

_“Thanks! You’re a real savior, Kozume-san!”_

_“Kenma,” Kenma shook his head, correcting him. “Just… call me Kenma.”_

_“Alright,” the boy nodded. “You can call me by my first name too. I’m Shouyou, Hinata Shouyou.”_

_“Nice to meet you, Shouyou,” Kenma said, allowing a small smile to spread on his face. He had never made a friend before and he didn’t think that he’d be able to make one now. Of course Shouyou was still far from being a friend since they’ve only just met. There was still a chance that he’d start avoiding him sooner or later or that Kenma would say or do something to mess everything up. But for now, he tried not to think about all those things. For now, he gave himself room to hope._

…

 

Tetsurou could easily tell that this was the first time Kageyama Tobio has been summoned for a Servant. Ever since they came to the ‘base’ (which was basically an abandoned warehouse that Kenma and his orange-haired friend turned into some sort of residence), he had been standing guard by the entrance all night. Tetsurou shook his head at him and went back to cleaning his spear. Outside, the sun was already rising. The light filtered in through the boarded up windows, the stacks of crates cast shadows on the cement floor.

“You’re awake,” a voice said behind him. Tetsurou turned around to find his Master, Kozume Kenma, standing at the foot of the staircase that led to the upper floor. He had changed out of the formal-looking clothes he was wearing yesterday into something that looked more comfortable.

“So are you. It’s quite early actually. Are you sure you’ve had enough sleep?” Tetsurou asked.

“…Yes,” Kenma answered. Tetsurou easily detected that he was lying. Kenma padded silently over to the wall where Tetsurou was and began to check the wards he had just placed last night.

“You don’t really have to check those,” he pointed out. “Nothing happened last night. If anything did then our Kageyama Tobio, First of His Name, King of Kumagawa took care of it.”

“King of Kitagawa,” Kenma corrected him. “And these wards aren’t just for protection either.”

“Hmm…” Tetsurou looked at the various runes and words written in a language he didn’t understand on the wall. “Care to explain their functions?” he asked, turning to Kenma.

“Mana detection,” he said simply. “If there’s an increase in mana activity somewhere in the city, the wards will quickly detect it.”

“Clever,” Tetsurou nodded, raising his eyebrows. “So that’s your plan then? Wait until there’s an increase in mana activity and head over to attack it.” He stood up and leaned his spear against the wall behind him. “Pardon me for saying so but that doesn’t seem like the best of plans.”

“Do you have another suggestion?” Kenma asked. “You were the leader of a revolutionary movement that overthrew a king before. Your strategies must be good.”

“You know that much about me. I’m honored,” Tetsurou smirked and bowed his head. “Well, your strategy isn’t really a bad one. Playing it safe works quite well in some cases. However, the problem with that would be that our enemies would still have the upper hand. They could be causing the commotion on purpose to lure everyone else into a trap where they’ll have the upper hand.”

“That’s true,” Kenma nodded, looking up and fixing Tetsurou with golden-colored eyes. “What’s your plan then?”

“Instead of waiting for a commotion, we can be the ones to cause it,” Tetsurou said. “You have two Servants on hand: me and that Kageyama guy. You and Hinata could pretend to duel somewhere in the city, hopefully where a lot of people are, which will surely attract another Servant over. Then, you could turn the tables on them by having us attack them. If too many Servants arrive we can just set some sort of trap to prepare.” Kenma fell silent as he mulled it over before shaking his head in response.

“That won’t work,” he said.

“Why wouldn’t it?” Tetsurou frowned. He knew there wasn’t anything wrong with his strategy. After all, he had used it a couple times before and it gave him the best results.

“Think of all the casualties there will be if you and Kageyama have a duel in the city,” Kenma said. “And there will be even more if more Servants arrive. We can’t risk it.”

“But this is how you’ll be able to take down as many Servants as you can. That’s the entire point of the Grail War,” Tetsurou protested. “And besides, they’ll cause casualties as well if you wait for them to cause the commotion before coming in.”

“We’re not using that strategy,” Kenma repeated, looking up at Tetsurou with defiance in his eyes. “Like Shouyou said last night, that’s not how we work. We’re not going to let innocent people die just for the sake of us winning the Grail.”

“I see,” Tetsurou nodded and backed away slightly. “But the fact that you’re not willing to risk that much to win says a lot about your resolve.”

“Shouyou and I do have the resolve,” Kenma argued calmly. “But we have a different means of attaining it.”

“Don’t worry then, I won’t get in the way of how you mean to do things,” Tetsurou said, taking his spear and walking away. Despite the fact that his Master refuted his smart strategy, Tetsurou couldn’t help but smile to himself. He decided that he liked this Kenma guy. His reasoning reminded Tetsurou of his own, a long, long time ago. ‘But those pure intentions aren’t going to last for long…’ he thought.

“Let me say just one thing,” Tetsurou stopped and turned around to look at Kenma. He hefted his spear on his shoulder. “Revolutions and wars are the same. You don’t win them without spilling blood.”

 

…

 

Masters come and go, that was a fact that Shimizu knew quite well. At an early age she was trained to obey the orders that were given. Her first masters were the elders in their clan who raised her to be what she was. Her next masters came after she was experienced enough to be an assassin. Shimizu learned to obey the orders of every single one of them, as if their words were law. But neither one of them survived very long either. In the end, they died at either their own hands, the hands of their enemies, or at the hands of assassins who were paid to the work just like Shimizu. Another thing she realized was who her one true master really was: Death.

Death shaped her life. Death was the one who claimed all the people she killed.

In the end, Death claimed her as well when she died at the hands of another assassin she was fighting. But now, she was summoned again through the Holy Grail. A new Master, Yachi Hitoka, had claimed her. Walking beside her now, Shimizu knew just how different she was from the other Masters she’d served. Besides the fact that she was a young girl, Yachi Hitoka seemed to have a much more complex goal than just killing her enemies. There was a fire in the young girl’s eyes, a fire fed by pain and hate.

“This area, you said,” Yachi spoke up. The two of them were standing in what was called a ‘train station.’ The era she had been summoned in was a lot different from the time when she lived. A lot of things surprised Shimizu but she didn’t let it show on her face.

“Yes,” Shimizu nodded. “The Master called Oikawa Tooru lives near here.”

“And you said his Servant was of a Berserker class, is that right?”

“Yes, Yachi-san.”

“Perfect.”

The train station wasn’t quite full just yet with only a few people waiting around to catch the early train. To almost everyone else in the area, today was just a normal day. “Shouldn’t we have chosen a more populated or busy area, Yachi-san?” Shimizu asked.

“No,” her Master replied. “I want to draw out as many Servants as possible but I don’t see why too many innocent people have to be involved in this. I’m not going to massacre these people, Kiyoko.”

“Very well, Master,” she complied. It seems like Death wasn’t going to be claiming too many lives today. The train’s horn sounded and Shimizu turned to see it approaching from a distance.

“Save the conductor, will you?” Yachi ordered. Shimizu gave a single nod of her head. Right before she left, she heard Yachi utter a single word.

_“_ _Fēn jiě.”_

Then, the train tracks blew up.

 

…

 

 “I can’t ensure your complete safety,” Iwaizumi advised, turning around to face Shigeru behind him.

“Thank you for your concern, Iwaizumi-san, but I know exactly what I’ve signed up for,” Shigeru said determinedly. “I’ve been trained and prepared to be the heir to both the Blackwood and the Yahaba family. I think I have just enough skills in my repertoire to handle this.”

“Well, you were the one that cast the sleep spell on him last night,” Iwaizumi chuckled and shook his head. “You’re right, I guess I should trust you more. In you go then, I guess,” he said, opening the door to one of the guest rooms where they put Kyoutani in last night. Shigeru stepped inside and heard Iwaizumi walk in and close the door behind him. Inside, Kyoutani was still fast asleep on the bed. His mask was on the nightstand beside him so Shigeru got a full view of his face. Kyoutani had blonde hair buzzed close to the scalp and eyes that looked as if they were rimmed with black eyeliner. His forehead was creased slightly in a frown even as he slept. Somehow, Shigeru found that it made him look less intimidating.

 _“L’gwd,”_ Shigeru uttered, holding a hand over his unconscious form. _“_ _Hit'orér,”_ he said next to undo the sleep spell he cast last night. Kyoutani’s eyes blinked open almost instantly after the spell was broken. He made a move as if to get up from the bed only to find himself being able to only jerk his body around slightly. Shigeru let a small sigh of relief at the fact that his binding spell actually worked. He began to relax and sat down on a chair in the room near Kyoutani’s bed.

“The more you struggle the tighter the bonds will be,” he said, lacing his fingers together over his lap. Kyoutani glared at him. Shigeru swallowed. ‘Maybe that wasn’t such a good start,’ he thought.

“I apologize for how you’ve been treated,” he said, clearing his throat. “But we had no choice but to restrain you after the way you acted last night. If you try not to kill or endanger any of us, we’ll allow you to move as you please. We only ask for cooperation.” Kyoutani’s eyes were on his while Shigeru explained the situation but he uttered no reply afterward.

“Can we come to an agreement on that?” Shigeru asked, prompting him to give an answer. Kyoutani stayed silent but his eyes darted from Shigeru’s to the side.

“Do you… do you not understand what I’m saying?” Shigeru frowned as he watched him.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you,” Iwaizumi spoke up from his place beside the door. “He can’t speak. His vocal cords were torn out during a fight before.”

“Really?” Shigeru’s eyes quickly fell on Kyoutani’s neck where he now noticed had a long scar that stretched almost from ear to ear. “Oh… you can’t speak then. That’s no problem.” Shigeru leaned forward and placed two fingers on the skin of Kyoutani’s wrist. _“_ _Hţẖbr.”_

 ** _“There, is that better?”_** Shigeru spoke through his mind.

 ** _“Wait, h-how? How are you in my head?”_** came the sound of a low, gruff voice that Shigeru presumed belonged to Kyoutani.

 ** _“I’ve connected our minds together for us to speak to each other,”_** Shigeru answered. **_“All the better for our situation, huh?”_**

 ** _“Get out of my head!”_** Kyoutani practically yelled making Shigeru wince slightly.

 ** _“Relax. I’m not going to look through your memories, only you can allow me access to that which I’m sure you won’t,”_** Shigeru reassured him. **_“The only thing I’m doing right now is hearing whatever it is you have to say. Now what’s your answer to my earlier question?”_**

**_“You only ask for my cooperation? The only thing you want is to control me and make me your puppet for this Grail War thing. And my answer to that is no.”_ **

**_“You don’t have a choice in the matter, Kyoutani-san. You are bound by contract through the Grail. That’s what the Command Seals are for.”_ **

**_“So you really are planning to control me,”_** Kyoutani pointed out. **_“You’re just trying to say it differently but it’s all the same thing.”_**

Shigeru hesitated and said nothing but kept his fingers on Kyoutani’s wrist. He was right, of course. There was no point in Shigeru trying to hide that fact. But he had to make this work if he was going to reach his goal.

 ** _“How about this…. We both work together, and when I mean together, I mean I won’t let you do something against your will and you won’t harm me, my friends, or any other innocent people,”_** Shigeru suggested.

 ** _“That isn’t enough yet,”_** Kyoutani answered. **_“What do I get in return?”_**

 ** _“I will ask Oikawa to use a Command Seal to send you back to the Grail’s dimension. You won’t be able to go back to your past but it’s a better way to leave this world,”_** Shigeru offered. **_“And if I violate my promise you can kill me, since I’m the one who’ll be working with you most of the time and the Grail’s contract won’t prevent you from doing that.”_**

 ** _“…Fine,”_** Kyoutani finally gave in. Shigeru let out a sigh of relief. **_“But just because we’re working together doesn’t mean you get to do that most of the time,”_** he added.

 ** _“Relax, it only works when I’m touching you,”_** Shigeru said and removed his hand, destroying the connection. “See?” he said. “Now, I’m going to remove the binding spell and if you attack me, you know perfectly well what’s going to happen to you,” he gestured towards Iwaizumi standing by the door. Kyoutani nodded and Shigeru muttered the incantation to counter the spell. But just as he was about to stand up, the sound of a loud boom coming from outside echoed throughout the room. Kyoutani instantly sat up just as the bedroom door flew open and Oikawa barged into the room.

“Where did that come from?!” Iwaizumi cursed.

“Near here, within the neighborhood,” Oikawa answered.

“There’s a mage nearby,” Shigeru added, using his mana detection skills to quickly find that out. “That explosion will surely trigger all the other Masters in the city.”

“The players are taking action,” Oikawa said, a smirk curling on his lips. “That only means that we’ll have to join in as well.” Iwaizumi walked over and stood by his side.

“What are your orders?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~~Interesting Information~~~  
> Last chapter I mentioned how the incantations are going to be in seven different languages. So each Master says their spells in a specific language. It kind of looks like this...  
> Hinata - Arabic  
> Kenma - Tamil  
> Yamaguchi - Greek  
> Yachi - Chinese  
> Daichi - Sanskrit  
> Bokuto - Latin  
> Oikawa and Yahaba - Hebrew  
> If this is confusing (or if anything else from the fic is) please feel free to leave a question in the comments. Also, stay tuned for a FIGHT SCENE in the next chapter~~~


	3. hear the sound of the storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He reached out and gripped Shouyou’s hand in his. Even though his friend wasn’t awake to squeeze his hand back, just having it there gave Kenma some form of reassurance. Because at this point, the uncertainties were all beginning to spill over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the super super late update >-< I know I posted the last chapter weeks ago but writing this chapter was just really hard (the fight scene took an entire week -_-") and I was feeling pretty down on some days and I didn't have the mindset to write but here it is. I hope you guys like it and thank you again for reading.

**collide**

to come into conflict or opposition

 _iṭācu-tal_ **|** _yud'dha_ **|** _týptō_ **|** _pèng zhuàng_   **|** _hţngş_ **|** _arieto_ **|** _tʿạrḍ_

* * *

 

In the blink of an eye, right before the train tracks completely blew up, Kiyoko disappeared from Hitoka’s side. The mage already had a shielding spell around her to protect herself from the blast. The train kept on going even without the tracks. _“_ _Bì lěi,”_ Hitoka yelled, holding her palm out in the train’s path. It crashed into the invisible barrier she set up, quickly stopping its movement.

Once the dust settled, Hitoka surveyed the damage she had caused. The floor and walls of the station had crumbled down into piles of rubble. The electric lines connected to the train were now bundles of wires on the floor, still sparking with electricity. The train itself was crushed and tossed to the side.

Kiyoko appeared beside her shortly with the unconscious train conductor in her arms. “What are your next orders, Yachi-san?” she asked.

“We leave,” Hitoka replied, slightly out of breath. She had channeled a lot of her mana into creating the explosion and using the barrier spell earlier. It almost completely sucked dry but she had to sacrifice a lot of mana for other mages to notice the spike in mana activity. “This explosion will draw out Oikawa Tooru and his Servant. The other mages will soon be coming as well. We wouldn’t want to be caught up in all the fighting.”

“Where do I leave him?” Kiyoko asked, gesturing to the train conductor.

“Somewhere near the exit.” Hitoka turned around and began to make her way through the destruction towards an exit. Luckily, almost everyone in the train station managed to escape once the tracks were blown up. But not all of them made it out safely. As she was walking, she spotted a young girl in a high school uniform among the carnage. Without any hesitation, Hitoka made her way over to her. The young girl was unconscious but still alive and breathing, thankfully. However her leg was crushed under a large slab of cement.

“Kiyoko,” she called to her Servant who was carefully laying the train conductor against a less-destroyed part of a wall. “Help me with this.” Kiyoko nodded and walked quickly towards her. Together, they lifted the cement slab of the young girl’s leg. It was twisted at an odd angle and bleeding slightly from a wound. Hitoka knelt down and held her hands over it.

 _“_ _Xiū lǐ,”_ she whispered, concentrating her mana in her palms. Slowly, she used her magic to help connect the bones back together. As soon as they were mended, she tore off a piece of her cloak and wound it around the girl’s leg. Even though the bones had been connected back together, it would still take some time for it fully heal. In order to prevent casualties, she tried to keep the blast as far away from the people in the area by doing it at the end of the station. But of course, there were going to be a few people caught in the crossfire once in a while. Healing magic was one of Hitoka’s specialties, and she learned it exactly for this purpose.

She stood up and surveyed her work. The girl was still unconscious but the paramedics were surely going to find her easily. Hitoka stood as still as a statue as she looked down at her. Suddenly, the girl on the ground looked different. She looked like a woman, a few years older than Hitoka. Her high school uniform replaced with worn-out jeans, a white t-shirt, and a green apron, the uniform of a cashier. Her hair was as blonde as Hitoka’s. Blood was leaking out of wounds on her arms and body. Her eyes were open and stared directly up at her.

“-chi-san. Yachi-san,” Kiyoko’s voice rang in her head, breaking her away from her thoughts. Hitoka blinked twice and the high school girl was back on the ground again.

“Yes, Kiyoko?”

“The other Servants will be coming soon. Shall we leave this place?” Kiyoko said.

“Yes. We should,” Hitoka nodded, pulling the hood of her cloak over her face and casting her invisibility spell again. And together, she and Kiyoko left the ruined train station.

 

…

 

“Where did it come from?” Shouyou asked, standing beside Kenma who was busy searching for the source of the spike in mana activity.

“Kousei Station,” Kenma answered. “A mage has been there recently so if we hurry we may still be able to reach them.”

“And if it was in a train station then there must have been a lot of people there,” he heard Shouyou mutter.

“We’ll have to hurry then,” Kageyama added, appearing near them.

“Hold on,” Kuroo followed and stood beside the Kageyama. He raised a hand as if to stop them. “It’s better if we split up first.”

“Split up?” Shouyou frowned. “What for?”

“This kind of explosion is surely going to attract a lot of Servants,” Kenma said. “If we’re going to go against them we need to stay together.”

“Yes, but we can’t rely on that information,” Kuroo shook his head. “What if the one who caused the spike is using it as a trap and working with a few of the other Masters? Surely you two aren’t the only ones working together.” Kenma fell silent and pursed his lips together, thinking about it. Even Shouyou was quiet. The two of them haven’t considered this thought in the past and Kenma found himself feeling grateful that he chose someone like Kuroo to be his Servant.

“He’s right,” Kageyama agreed somewhat grudgingly. “Once we arrive, there could be a trap waiting for us that could make us an easy target for the other Servants and Masters.”

“What’s your suggestion then?” Kenma asked, looking up at Kuroo. “And it shouldn’t involve any casualties.”

“I already got the hint,” Kuroo said quickly. “My suggestion is that we split up. Two of us could head over to Kousei Station first to scope the area and fight any Servants that are there if any do arrive. The other two can stay here and keep watch of the mana activity in the city, to check if there are multiple other Servants coming over as well.”

“But what if there are too many other Servants in Kousei Station and the two we send there aren’t enough to battle all of them?” Shouyou asked.

“Then the ones left here can send someone for back-up,” Kenma said quickly, before Kuroo had a chance to answer.

“Exactly,” his Servant smirked and nodded.

“The same goes for if it is a trap. The ones in Kousei Station could send a signal for help,” Kenma added. “It is a good strategy.”

“So who stays and who goes?” Shouyou asked.

“If I may make a suggestion,” Kageyama spoke up. “I think it should be me and Hinata who leaves for Kousei Station. We need as much offensive power as we can there.”

“And you’re saying I don’t have offensive power?” Kuroo crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at Kageyama.

“I’m just saying that it might be better for Kozume-san to stay here as well,” he clarified, scowling at Kuroo. “After all, it seems like he’s the one who knows how to detect the mana activity in the city.”

“And you’re saying I don’t?” Shouyou protested.

“You don’t, Shouyou,” Kenma deadpanned. “But I agree with Kageyama’s suggestion. Shouyou’s fast. He could get to Kousei Station in no time.”

“Then it’s decided,” Kuroo lifted his spear and slung it over his shoulder. “I’ll be standing guard here with my Master.”

“We better get going then,” Shouyou said, turning to Kageyama who nodded in reply.

“Take care of yourself, Shouyou,” Kenma called after him.

“Don’t worry too much, Kenma,” Shouyou grinned before turning around and running out the warehouse. Kenma watched him leave. Suddenly, he began to doubt if this was such a good idea. During combat practice, it was usually him and Shouyou who teamed up together. Kenma was always the one who caught him, who made sure he was safe when Shouyou accidentally made the wrong move. There was a strong nagging sensation in his head that warned him that Shouyou might not even come back from this mission.

“I’ll protect him,” Kageyama spoke up, placing a hand on his shoulder as if sensing his distress. “I can see how important he is to you,” he said, looking Kenma in the eye. “I’ll make sure he comes back unharmed. You have my word on that.”

“Make sure you do, Kageyama,” Kenma nodded. Kageyama bowed before following Shouyou out of the warehouse. Then, remembering that he had a job to do as well, he turned around and went back to one of the wall in the warehouse where he had map of Fuyuki City. It was enchanted so that a spot on the map would light up whenever there was a spike in mana activity. Kenma had spent days working on this map. Looking at the glowing dot that marked Kousei Station, he was glad that those days of work had paid off. He felt Kuroo stand beside him.

“I guess all we have to do now is to wait,” he said.

“Yes,” Kenma nodded. “All we have to do now is to wait.” He knelt down on the floor in front of the map, enveloping himself in the shadows in the room.

 

…

 

“Fuyuki Academy?” Keiji read the sign on the building aloud.

“Yup. Best mage academy in Japan,” Bokuto said, bouncing on the balls of his feet beside him. “I’ve always wanted to study here ever since I was a kid.”

“I see,” Keiji brushed away his last comment with disinterest.

“The most mage activity happens here I would say since it’s all filled with students and everything,” Bokuto continued to explain. “They have a whole gym for combat magic training and all these different buildings where you can work on stuff like magical healing, incantations, summoning rituals, and all these other different divisions. Plus, there are quite a lot of students who come here.”

‘He’s right,’ Keiji thought as his dark green eyes surveyed the different buildings in the area with students in uniform walking around. The area was practically buzzing with mana activity. Keiji could feel it on the tip of his fingers. The place was perfect. Anything that Keiji planned to do here would be concealed by the high mana activity in Fuyuki Academy.

“So, is this a good place?” Bokuto asked, somewhat hesitantly.

“It is, Bokuto-san. Thank you,” Keiji allowed himself a small smile and a nod in his direction.

“Great!” his Master grinned, his face brightening within the snap of a finger. “So, what are you planning on doing here?”

“We’re going to make this our headquarters,” Keiji answered. “We’ll be staying here throughout the Grail War.”

“But, why here? Why can’t it be at my place?”

“This is a better hiding place, Bokuto-san,” Keiji answered, fixing him with his gaze. “The whole area is already surrounded by barriers and special protection wards. And the abundance of mana activity here is going to prevent other Masters and Servants from spotting us.”

“Then what about other people spotting us?” Bokuto pointed out.

“Easily taken care of.” Keiji snapped one of his fingers and in a matter of seconds, both he and Bokuto were wearing uniforms similar to those worn by the students.

“Whoa! That was so cool! I didn’t even notice it changing until it actually did!” his Master hooted excitedly, stretching out the sleeves of his blazer. “So we’re going to pretend we’re students here?”

“Yes,” Keiji nodded, fingering the sleeve of his blazer. “There are residence areas here, right? We can set up a base there and if we keep a very low profile, it’s possible that people will take little notice of us.”

“So can I attend classes while I’m here?” Bokuto asked excitedly, ignoring what Keiji previously said. “I’ve always wanted to try combat magic since I know you can do a lot of fighting and punching. I was kind of in the kendo club back in high school and I’m not saying I was _that_ good or anything but I did win a few championships and—“

“That would not be advisable,” Keiji abruptly cut him off before he could say anything else. “Keeping a low profile means we can’t attend any of the classes here. It would be alright to go out and walk around once in a while but other than that, try not to attract too much attention to yourself.”

“Oh, alright then…” Bokuto hung his head down, looking quite dejected. His quick mood change caught Keiji slightly by surprise and he quickly searched his head for a way to mediate it.

“You can try helping out with some of the rituals I have to do,” he quickly suggested. “We still have to protect ourselves when we’re here and take down the other Servants at the same time so that we could win. And after seeing the pentagram you drew to summon me I was thinking that I could use your help a lot.”

“My help?” Bokuto brightened up significantly, looking at Keiji with large eyes. “You… you really mean that?”

Keiji withheld a sigh. “Yes, I’ll be needing your help too, Bokuto-san,” he tried saying as genuinely as possible.

“Awesome! You can count on me Akaashi!” Bokuto grinned.

“Sure. Can you find us an empty room to stay in first? Preferably someplace with much less people.”

“Alright. I’ll come right back to you Akaashi!” Bokuto called before running off. Students saw him coming and jumped out of the way.

“So much for trying to keep a low profile,” Keiji murmured as he watched his Master dash off. His immaturity made him all the easier to fool. Keiji smirked to himself, holding his hands out to his sides. Doing the spell was easy in such a place like this. He didn’t even have to use his own mana. All he had to do was mold the already-existing mana in Fuyuki Academy. After some concentration, Keiji began to form the protective barrier and a large, dome-shaped shield appeared over the campus. It was made of mana, the color a dark, almost black purple. Well, it was too Keiji at least. Only he could see it after all. The students went on with their daily activities, unaware of the invisible barrier around them.

If Keiji’s plan worked, those students would be gone in a matter of a few days.

 

…

 

“Now, if it’s too dangerous and there are too many other Servants, don’t hesitate to leave the area,” Iwaizumi reminded Shigeru. The four of them, including Kyoutani who scowled at the side but didn’t make any move to try and kill them, were standing in the basement of the mansion. Oikawa had given Shigeru and Kyoutani the task of investigating what happened in Kousei Station. He and Iwaizumi were going to scout the city for the location of the other Servants and Masters. But to Shigeru, it seemed like he was looking for something or someone in particular but he said nothing.

“Understood,” Shigeru nodded. “Good luck to you and Oikawa-san too.”

 _“_ _Mşʻwl,”_ Oikawa said and a portal soon materialized on the concrete wall. “There we are, Shigeru-chan. The police and paramedics probably aren’t there yet so make your business quick before they actually arrive. Try to come back in one piece, alright?” he winked.

“Yeah, I’ll see you two soon,” Shigeru smiled reassuringly at him and Iwaizumi. He turned around at Kyoutani and gave a single nod of his head before stepping through the portal. Once the two of them were across, the portal closed behind them. Shigeru looked around and found himself standing in the destruction of what used to be a train station. The floor was scattered with rubble that had fallen from the ceiling and walls. The electrical wiring lay open and exposed, spitting out blue sparks.

“Watch yourself on those,” Shigeru turned to Kyoutani and pointed at one of the exposed wires. He nodded and continued to pick his way through the piles of rubble. So far, his sensory skills were picking up small traces of mana here and there, no doubt from the blast that just occurred. As he continued walking, he finally got to the place where people waited for the train. There were two other people in the area: an old man and a young, high school girl. Both were unconscious but thankfully alive.  The police and paramedics weren’t there yet.  

Shigeru quickly deduced that the explosion was triggered in this area. There was a large, gaping hole where some of the train tracks used to be. The train itself had almost completely flipped off the tracks and was now lying near the wall. There was a lot of leftover mana in the area. The only thing missing was the Master or Servant who actually caused the explosion.

“A lure,” he said aloud, turning around to face Kyoutani who was quietly surveying the scene before him. “The Master who caused the explosion is gone. They probably used a ton of mana to blow up the train station to attract the attention of other nearby Masters. So now, there’s a good chance that a few of them are on their way right now.” He raised an eyebrow at Kyoutani.

“I hope you’re ready to fight.”

Then, as if on cue, Shigeru sensed large amounts of mana coming in the direction of Kousei Station. ‘A Servant,’ he instantly thought. “Prepare yourself! One’s already close!” he called out to Kyoutani who quickly unsheathed his katana and got into a fighting stance. _“_ _Magén,”_ Shigeru uttered and a mana shield formed itself in front of the palm of his outstretched hand.

_“_ _Jrḥ!”_

Shigeru turned around and raised his shield just in time as a strong gust of wind slammed against him, slicing slightly at the skin of his forearm that he held up to protect his head. He looked up to find an orange-haired boy moving through the air as if he was flying before landing on the ground. Beside him, Kyoutani raced forward and headed towards him with the same blinding speed that he used last night to attack Oikawa.

“Kageyama, now!” the orange-haired boy yelled. Shigeru’s eyes darted to the side and instantly landed on another dark-haired boy fully clothed in armor and wielding a longsword. He raised his sword in the air with two hands before bringing it down to the ground in a cutting motion. At first, the attack didn’t look like much, but the force was enough to cut through the air just as sharply as the orange-haired boy’s previous attack did. Kyoutani stopped just in time to avoid the attack but it left room for both of their enemies to attack. Shigeru made a split-second decision and chose to block the orange-haired boy’s attack first.

 _“_ _Magén,”_ he yelled, casting a shield around Kyoutani. “Retreat, Kyoutani!”  His Servant, however, ignored him and instantly turned to the left; heading straight for the dark-haired boy. “Shit,” Shigeru cursed once he saw the orange-haired boy heading straight towards him. Thinking quickly, he planted a hand on the ground. _“_ _ẖylq!”_ he yelleded and a long crack appeared in the ground, splitting it in two. The orange-haired boy lost his balance for a short moment but quickly launched himself in the air.

‘Wind magic,’ Shigeru quickly guessed as he watched him. ‘He must be using that to move quickly and make attacks while he’s off the ground too.’ Silently, he cursed Kyoutani for running off. He would make a better opponent for the orange-haired guy.

 _“_ _Jrḥ!”_ he yelled, sending another gust of wind Shigeru’s way. But before it hit, he quickly used a levitation spell to raise a large hunk of cement to block the attack and then send it flying in the orange-haired boy’s direction. The hunk of cement hit its target and the boy fell to the ground. At the side, both Kyoutani and the dark-haired Servant were engaged in a duel. Shigeru decided that apprehending him from any movement would be the best strategy so that both he and Kyoutani could take care of the Servant. Shigeru raised his hand to cast a binding spell but before he uttered the words, the dark-haired Servant appeared in front of him and swung his sword. It was too fast for Shigeru to react to it and he closed his eyes, expecting himself to be sliced in two. But nothing happened. When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at Kyoutani’s back. He and the other Servant had crossed swords and were now pushing against each other. It was obvious that the other Servant was the stronger one judging by how Kyoutani was slowly being pushed back. Shigeru didn’t wait for either of them to be cut down by the dark-haired Servant’s sword attack.

He focused mana in his right hand, forming a fist and releasing it once he planted it into his side. The effect sent the Servant flying backwards, though not as far as Shigeru wanted. Still, it was enough for him and Kyoutani to buy some time to get some distance between them and the Servant. The orange-haired boy was already back on his feet. Shigeru cursed under his breath. He would have wanted him to remain incapacitated for a while.

 ** _‘We need to incapacitate them somehow,’_** Shigeru touched Kyoutani’s wrist after casting his telecommunication spell and sent him the message. **_‘At least enough to make them retreat.’_**

 ** _‘Can we kill them?’_** he answered back.

**_‘If you can. But try targeting the orange-haired one. He’s fast but I think you can match his speed. I can try to do something about his Servant.’_ **

Kyoutani nodded and tugged his hand away from Shigeru before getting into a fighting stance, holding his katana with one hand by his side. The dark-haired Servant got into a stance as well, holding his longsword in front of his face with both hands. Without warning, both Servants ran straight for each other. Shigeru’s eyes couldn’t follow Kyoutani’s speed but within a split second, he changed direction and moved towards the orange-haired boy. Shigeru felt a smirk play on his lips. The Servant, realizing what Kyoutani had done, began to turn to block his attack.

 _“_ Mẖswm! _”_ Shigeru yelled, raising his hand and forming a barrier to stop the dark-haired Servant. Kyoutani was only inches away from his target and slashed his katana upwards.

The orange-haired boy screamed in pain as the sword found its mark. He backed away, clutching the slash wound that was already staining his shirt red. ‘Got him!’ Shigeru mentally cheered but his joy soon faded quickly.

“NO!” the dark-haired yelled, raising his sword and bringing it down onto the barrier, instantly destroying it.

“KYOUTANI!” Shigeru screamed at his Servant who was just turning around as the dark-haired Servant ‘s sword slashed at him. He fell to the ground and the dark-haired Servant quickly ran to his Master, scooping him up in his arms, and sprinted out of the area as fast as he could. Shigeru was grateful that they chose to leave instead of finish him off and he ran towards the place where Kyoutani was lying on the ground. There was a long slash across his torso and blood was pooling out of it, staining his robes and the ground underneath him. Kyoutani’s face was a mask of pain and he struggled to sit up.

“Hey, hey, wait. Stay down,” Shigeru said, placing a hand on his chest to stop him from getting up. “It’s pretty bad but nothing I can’t heal so just lie down.” Kyoutani glared at him in response but Shigeru stood his ground. Finally relenting, Kyoutani lay back down on the ground with a wince on his face.

“This might hurt a bit but it’s the fastest way to heal you,” Shigeru proceeded. He held both of his hands over the wound on Kyoutani’s chest and focused his mana. _“_ ẖybwr _,”_ he uttered. He concentrated on an image of wounds being stitched together and felt the mana in his hands begin to do the same to Kyoutani’s. He slowly moved his hands, following the wound, until he finally closed the entire thing.

“There, that should stop the bleeding,” Shigeru sighed, wiping the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. The fight had drained a lot of his mana and he knew that the only choice they had left would be to leave the area as fast they could before all the other Servants came. If another one came, Shigeru didn’t know if he and Kyoutani would make it out alive.

“We have to get out of here,” Shigeru decided. Kyoutani nodded and began to stand up. He fell slightly as he did but Shigeru stood up quickly and wrapped an arm around him to steady him.

 ** _“I know I said that the bleeding has stopped but that doesn’t mean you’re completely healed either,”_** he said, gripping his wrist to send the message in his head.

 ** _“I don’t need your help. I can stand up just fine on my own,”_** Kyoutani responded, tugging himself away from Shigeru but he unrelentingly held on.

 ** _“Not while I’m here.”_** Kyoutani finally stopped resisting and let Shigeru assist him, leaning on his katana as well for support. With the last of his mana, Shigeru used the same spell Oikawa used earlier to create a portal back to the house. The two of them then stepped through and ended up back in Oikawa’s basement.

 

…

 

“There’s something happening in Kousei Station,” Daichi announced, striding into his mother’s office. “Sugawara told me while he was scoping the mana activity in the city.”

“So I’ve heard,” she answered, not looking up from the large map she had on her desk.

“We’ve got to go there, don’t we? A lot of people could be hurt and—“

“We will do no such thing, Daichi,” she interrupted, looking up at him and folding her hands over the tabletop.

“We… won’t?” Daichi stopped and stared at his mother in disbelief. “But… all those people—“

“What’s happening in Kousei Station is probably due to some minor scuffle among other Servants. It doesn’t concern us. They can all go ahead and kill each other for all I care. That would be much easier for us even.”

“So we’ll just sit back here and wait?”

“Look, if it bothers you so much, why don’t you just send Sugawara?” his mother sighed. “I’m sure he’d be more than enough to take care of those other Servants. But getting yourself involved is a waste of time. I’m not letting you go.”

Daichi clenched his fists and exhaled. “Fine. I’m sending Sugawara then,” he said before stalking out of her office. His silver-haired Servant was outside in the living room, sitting at the low table and looking through a book. He had changed out of his clothes from last night into the ones left for him in the closet: a button-up shirt, suit jacket, and slacks that were all in black. His skin looked even paler in contrast to the black clothing.

“She said no, didn’t she?” he said, looking up at Daichi when he came.

“No,” he shook his head.

“So… what are you going to do now?” Sugawara cocked his head at him.

“I want you to go to Kousei Station,” Daichi ordered. “Check the area, try to get information on the Servants but don’t engage them unless needed. And most importantly, try to take care of any casualties.”

“As you wish, Master,” Sugawara stood up and bowed. Daichi nodded at him. Part of him desperately wished that he could go with Sugawara but he knew that the best course of action, even though he didn’t like it, was to listen to his mother. She had been in the last Grail War. She had seen the destruction and everything that happened during that time and she survived. Daichi knew nothing.

On his way out, Sugawara stopped in front of Daichi and placed a hand on his shoulder. Daichi froze at the sudden contact but made no move to evade it, even as Sugawara leaned in close to whisper in his ear.

“Remember, Daichi Sawamura,” he whispered. “I’m _your_ Servant, not your mother’s.” Daichi frowned, puzzled at the message but before he could ask what it meant, Sugawara pulled back and flashed a smile.

“Then, I’ll be off! See you soon, Daichi…” he waved before walking away.

 

…

 

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Those were the words that ran over and over again in Tobio’s head as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, cradling Hinata in his arms. The boy was unconscious and the wound on his chest was bleeding quite heavily. The color had drained from his face and Tobio gritted his teeth, quickening his pace as he headed back to the warehouse.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

He had made a promise to Kozume-san earlier that he would return Hinata alive and in one piece. Bringing him home in this state was certainly a violation of that promise. And if Hinata was dead—

‘No, he’s not going to die,’ Tobio shook his head, clearing his mind of that thought. Hinata wasn’t going to die, not on his watch.

Finally, the warehouse loomed into view and Tobio used one last burst of speed to get there. Kuroo was standing guard by the entrance, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He looked up when Tobio landed on the ground.

“Hey, back already—What happened?!” his eyes widened once he caught sight of Hinata.

“A fight with a Servant,” Tobio hastily explained, walking past him into the warehouse. “Where’s Kozume-san? Kozume-san!”

“Here, Kageyama,” Kozume answered, standing up from his spot on the floor. “Is Shouyou—“ The boy stopped when he caught sight of his friend with bloodied clothing in Tobio’s arms. Kozume’s eyes were wide when they looked up at Tobio.

“What, what happened?” he asked shakily.

“The Servant,” Tobio answered. “I let my guard down and…” He swallowed and looked away in shame. “But he’s still alive. Just barely, but can you still save him?”

“Of… of course,” Kozume nodded, running a hand through his hair. “I… I need something to draw on the ground with and—“

“Here,” Kuroo appeared, handing a piece of white chalk to his Master. “Calm down a bit, you won’t be able to do what you need to do if you’re panicking. What else do you need?”

“A… a knife,” Kozume stammered. “Three candles. And a bowl. Just that.” He took the piece of chalk and began drawing a circle on the floor. In it, he added some criss-crossing lines, and a few strange runes that Tobio had never seen before.

“Place Shouyou in the middle,” he ordered. Tobio nodded and carefully laid Hinata’s body in the middle of the circle before stepping back.

“Here’s the bowl, candles and knife,” Kuroo returned, carrying the items with him.

“Give me the bowl and knife. Lay the candles on the edges of the circle. One facing me and two on my left and right. Kageyama, light them,” Kenma hastily ordered. His voice still shook slightly but the look on his face was one of pure concentration.

Tobio nodded and he and Kuroo got to work, setting the candles down and lighting them up. They stood back when they were done and let Kozume take the lead. The young boy placed two fingers down on the edge of the chalk circle. _“_ _Tuṉṉu-tal.”_ he whispered, barely loud enough for either Tobio or Kuroo to hear. The shadows of the candlesticks that were cast by the flames filled in the criss-crossing lines in the chalk circle. Kozume raised his right hand and with the left hand holding the knife, made a slash on his forearm. The blood from the cut dripped down into the bowl underneath.

“ _Tuṉṉu-tal. Kaṭṭutal. Mīḷ-tal,”_ he chanted under his breath. “ _Tuṉṉu-tal. Kaṭṭutal. Mīḷ-tal.”_

Tobio watched as the candles lengthened and the shadows began to stitch Hinata’s wound closed. Kozume repeated the chant again and again in a low voice as his blood continued to drip into the bowl. But, Tobio noticed, despite how much blood dripped into it, the height of the liquid in the bowl didn’t seem to increase. The fascination he felt beforehand was now tinged with fear as he watched Kozume heal Hinata. There was a lingering darkness to him and his magic that made Tobio’s skin crawl. He turned to look at Kuroo to see if he was feeling the same thing but instead of seeing some form of fear or apprehension, Tobio saw excitement in his eyes.

“He’s interesting, isn’t he?” Kuroo said aloud, his eyes completely locked on Kenma. “My Master.”

 

…

 

Kentaro sat still on the bed as Yahaba wrapped bandages around his torso. He didn’t understand why that was necessary. The wound on his chest had already been closed shut anyway and it wasn’t like he was going to die from it. He’d been through worse in his lifetime. Once, an opponent slashed a pretty deep wound across his abdomen. Kentaro had to keep an arm around his midsection to prevent his guts from falling out until he reached a doctor who stitched it close for him. But in this case, Kentaro had grudgingly acknowledged that Yahaba probably knew more than he did when it came to these things so he agreed to the process.

“Oikawa and Iwaizumi are off to scout out one of our enemies,” Yahaba said. “For now, it’s best if we lay low here. Chances are there aren’t going to be any more people going to Kousei Station.” He fastened the edge of the bandage and stood up.

“No fighting for the rest of the day for you,” he continued, looking down at Kentaro with eyes that dared him to contradict his orders. “It will take about half a day for you to heal completely so no strenuous physical activity either.”

‘It’s not like it’s going to open,’ Kentaro scowled and stood up before walking over to the chair where his tattered, bloody robe was. But before he put it on, Yahaba snatched it from him.

“If you won’t listen to what I say, you can go ahead and bleed to death if you want to,” he snapped before walking to the door. Before leaving, he stopped and turned around to face Kentaro, holding up his robe. “Also, I’m replacing this.” And with that, he left.

Kentaro walked to the door and tried turning the knob before finding that he couldn’t open it. Yahaba must have locked it from the outside to prevent him from leaving. ‘Like that’s going to stop me,’ Kentaro thought. But as soon as he tried to move, a sharp pain stabbed into his side. ‘Shit,’ he cursed, clutching the side of a chair to steady himself. Looking down, he saw a patch of red bloom on the bandage around the area where he felt the pain. Yahaba was right, and it irritated him to have to admit it. He really was done fighting for the day. Carefully, to avoid any moving too much, Kentaro made his way back to the bed and gently lay himself down.

As he stared up at the ceiling, he began to realize just how exhausted he actually was. Back when he was alive, he fought a number of different opponents throughout his lifetime. Some battles ended with only a single strike of his sword. Some lasted for almost an entire day. But those were ordinary people. Fighting mages and other Servants, that was entirely different. Being a Servant was pretty different too. Kentaro knew that his physical abilities had heightened. He was much faster now, much stronger. But so were his enemies.

‘Too weak…’ he cursed himself, clenching the hands at his sides into fists. He needed to be faster than how he was before. The armored Servant with a sword was strong and there were going to be others just as powerful as him, and Masters. A strong urge pulled at Kentaro to get himself out of bed and start training. But Yahaba’s words repeated themselves in his head and the side where he was now bleeding from was throbbing with pain. And without entirely meaning to, Kentaro finally fell asleep.

 

…

 

The police and paramedics were already at the station when Koushi arrived. Luckily, they were just outside the area taking care of the two people injured in the explosion so the inner part of the station was almost empty. Judging by the state of the building, the train tracks, and the train itself, a mage did trigger the explosion. But based on the long scratch marks on the cement floor and the dried up blood, something else had happened too.

“A battle, huh?” Koushi said aloud, smirking to himself. “The other competitors sure are quick to action.” He could still detect the traces of mana left behind. But the ones who were here before were long gone. Seeing that there was no point in staying any longer, Koushi cast a portal and left.

The portal opened on top of one of the buildings in Fuyuki Academy. He had been there before, thirty years ago when he worked for his own Master so it was natural for him to want to see how it was now. There were wards and protective barriers cast in the area but Koushi easily slipped past those when he portaled there. The academy was charged with mana, as always with all the students practicing their magic. But there was something else in the area. A faint, barely detectable change in the atmosphere. Koushi almost didn’t sense it at first but now, he blocked out all interference and concentrated on that.

‘It’s like some sort of… barrier spell…’ he thought. ‘But not quite…’ Barrier spells are spells that are cast over an entire area, usually used for protection. But the one Koushi was sensing now seemed to have a more malignant purpose.

After more concentration, he finally managed to pinpoint the sources of where the barrier spell was cast. There were four of them, placed on each of the cardinal points. Koushi immediately headed over to the nearest one which was just a few blocks away from one of the residence halls. There, he found a boy with spiked up black and white hair dressed in the Fuyuki Academy uniform drawing something on the ground at the base of a tree. There was no one else in the area. ‘A Master?’ Koushi thought, crossing his arms as he watched him. It seemed almost impossible. He didn’t have enough mana to be a Master, or even a mage for the most part. But that still didn’t eliminate the possibility of him being one. And if he was here, then his Servant must be close by as well…

 

…

 

Keiji broke out of his meditation the moment he sensed the appearance of a Servant within Fuyuki Academy.

‘How did he slip past all those protection wards so fast with barely even a trace?!’ he panicked, instantly leaving the room without closing the door behind him and dashing outside the residence hall. He was close by, Keiji could sense it. He was near one of the places where Keiji sent Bokuto to draw a pentagram.

“Oh, Akaashi! I just finished drawing this one!” Bokuto waved at him, standing up when Keiji burst into the area.

“Bokuto-san. Have you seen anyone around here?” Keiji asked, scoping their surroundings. The Servant’s mana signature was strong here so he must be in the area.

“No. Not really.”

“I think he means me.”

Keiji spun around in the direction of the voice and saw a man stepping out from behind one of the trees. His clothing, pants, shoes, shirt, and suit jacket, were all black. The hair that framed his face was pure silver. The man casually approached Keiji, hands in his pockets, as if they were acquaintances. His movement placed him on edge.

“So, you must be the Servant then,” the man said, stopping a few feet away from him. “I have to commend you on your strategy to use this place. And the barrier spell you put up?” The man smirked and looked around. “I almost didn’t detect it at first. You must be a Servant of the Caster class then.”

“Thank you,” Keiji stated, deciding to play along with his game for now. Although the Servant in front of him was pretty much a mystery, and judging by the mana signature Keiji was detecting, he was quite confident that he could take him down. As long as his Master didn’t show up. “And you are?”

“I’m of the Archer class. That’s all the information I’m willing to give,” the man answered, placing his hands in his pockets.

“Where’s your bow, then?” Keiji raised an eyebrow. He held out his arm and a long staff appeared in his hand. “We can’t have a duel if you don’t have your weapon, Archer.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary for now, Caster,” the Servant looked up at him calmly. Keiji’s brow furrowed and then, it hit him. The Archer had been suppressing his mana signature all along. And now, he was unleashing the full extent of it. A chill ran down Keiji’s spine as he stared into the Servant’s calm gaze. He was powerful, way too powerful. Keiji gripped his staff tighter but deep down he knew that If he was going to fight the Servant in front of him, he wouldn’t make it out alive.

Then, as if he was simply flipping a switch, the Archer suppressed his mana signature again.

“Well, there’s no need for that right now,” he chuckled good-heartedly. “After all, it wouldn’t be that much of a fight if we were to go at it now.”

“It wouldn’t,” Keiji said stiffly. Archer’s gaze taunted him.

“I must say, I am kind of curious with how your strategy is going to play out. If you could take down some rivals along the way too, that would be great.” And to Keiji’s surprise, he turned around and began walking away.

“I won’t bother you for now, Caster. But if we do meet again,” Archer turned around and flashed him a smile. “I don’t think you’ll live.” And with that, he walked away and portaled out of the place.

“Akaashi!” Bokuto called from a distance, running up to him. “Akaashi! Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah. I am. The Servant just wanted to talk, that’s all,” Keiji shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

“Are you okay? Your hands are shaking,” Bokuto told him, taking hold of his right hand. Keiji looked down. He was right, they were shaking without him realizing it.

“It’s fine…” he said, taking his hand back. “Did you finish the pentagrams?” he asked, changing the subject. The pentagrams were supposed to reinforce the barrier that Keiji previously cast. It was crucial for his strategy to have it all ready in no time. The spell itself took time but it was a small price to pay for the benefits he was going to reap soon. Soon.

“I have one more to make,” Bokuto answered, rubbing the back of his head.

“Do it quickly,” Keiji ordered. “We need to be more prepared next time someone like him comes along.”

 

…

 

The ritual saved Shouyou from the most part of the danger, particularly the open wound and the severe blood loss. But he still wasn’t completely healed. Bandages were wrapped around his body to cover the long slash across it that was still bleeding but only slightly. He had a bit of a concussion too, which Kenma only noticed later on but it didn’t seem too severe. Right now, he was still unconscious and lying down on one of the couches inside a warehouse office. Kenma stayed beside him instead of returning to his job of watching the mana activity in the city. He didn’t care if all of the other Servants were having a battle royale somewhere in the city. Shouyou was in no condition to fight, and Kenma wasn’t going anywhere without him.

“Kozume-san?” Kenma jumped slightly when he heard the sound of Kageyama’s voice accompanied by a knock on the door.

“Kozume-san, may I come in?” he asked. Kenma bit his lip and looked at the door. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to Kageyama at the moment, especially after he broke his promise to protect Shouyou. He hated him for that. If the wound had been a few centimeters deeper or if he came a few minutes to late, Kenma knew that no amount of blood magic would be able to save him.  But deep down, he knew that it wasn’t all Kageyama’s fault either. Kenma didn’t know about the opponents that they had to encounter. It was only fair for him to hear out what Kageyama had to say.

“Come in,” Kenma spoke up, sitting up straighter in his seat when the door opened and Kageyama walked in.

“Is… Is Hinata—“

“He’ll be fine,” Kenma interrupted him.

“Once again, I cannot fully express how sorry I am for not being able to protect him,” Kageyama continued. “I made a promise to you that I was going to return Hinata unharmed but I failed that promise.” He looked up at Kenma before getting to his knees and bowing down low in front of him. “I am not worthy of being called a Servant, I know that. But if you still have some trust in me, I’m willing to do better as Hinata’s and your Servant. My word may be useless to you but it’s all I have to give.”

“You don’t have to go that far,” Kenma muttered. “But I guess I have no choice but to forgive you either.”

“Thank you, Kozume-san, I—“

“That’s enough,” Kenma cut him off. He knew Kageyama’s apology was sincere but he wasn’t necessarily in the mood to listen to all of it. All he really wanted was for Shouyou to be okay already. “The opponents you had to fight…” he added, remembering that he was supposed to ask Kageyama about it. “What were they like? Were they that powerful?”

“The ones we encountered were a Master and Servant,” Kageyama answered. “And yes, they were stronger than I expected. The Servant was the one I faced the most while Hinata battled the Master.”

“Do you know what Servant class they were?” Kenma asked.

“I don’t know exactly. But my guess, based on their movements and fighting style, that the Servant was from the Berserker class,” Kageyama answered. “He was a young man who wielded a katana. He wasn’t very strong but his movements were quick, much faster than Hinata’s.”

‘A faster fighter than Hinata…’ Kenma fell silent. No wonder his friend wasn’t able to dodge that attack. The fact that he was from the Berserker class, the most volatile Servant class, was also troubling news.

“And the Master?” he continued. “What about him?”

“He was quite powerful as well for being able to hold his ground against Hinata’s quick attacks,” Kageyama said. “He’s more of a long-range fighter than a close-range one and he relied on casting spells quickly. The reason why I couldn’t quickly help Hinata when the Servant headed straight for him was because he cast a barrier between us.”

“I see,” Kenma nodded. Every bit of information he learned sounded more troubling than the last. A pit of dread settled in his stomach. If Hinata and Kageyama together couldn’t even beat another Master and Servant duo, how were they ever going to win the war? Doubts and second thoughts began to form inside Kenma’s mind. Maybe they shouldn’t have joined the Grail War in the first place. Surely it wasn’t too late to back out.

“I’ll be heading back now,” Kageyama stood up. “I’ll be more watchful now that Hinata’s still healing. Please get some rest too Kozume-san and leave the rest to me and Kuroo.”

“Alright,” Kenma gave a nod of his head. Kageyama turned to leave but just before he stepped out the door, Kenma called after him.

“Call me Kenma next time,” he said. Kageyama turned around and nodded before leaving and closing the door. Kenma hung his head and sighed before turning back to Shouyou. ‘I should be there next time,’ he told himself, clenching his hands into fists on his knees. ‘I should be there so I could protect him better.’ He reached out and gripped Shouyou’s hand in his. Even though his friend wasn’t awake to squeeze his hand back, just having it there gave Kenma some form of reassurance. Because at this point, the uncertainties were all beginning to spill over.

 

…

 

_“Kuroo-sama!”_

_“Kuroo-sama, what are your orders?”_

_“Kuroo-sama!”_

_Kuroo swallowed and looked at the person who addressed him. It was Watari, one of the new members of the Black Knights. He was young, only a few years younger than Tetsurou himself. Another soldier who wished to fight for freedom and glory. From his position on the ship, he had a good view of the shoreline where the fighting between his men and the King’s men still raged on. The sound of metal clanging against metal rang through the air even from the distance. Blood spilled on the sand and seeped into the waves crashing against the shore, dyeing the water red._

_The lifeboats were still anchored near the shore and Tetsurou spotted some of his men rushing towards them, each one fleeing for their lives from the horde of King’s men. But most of the Black Knights were still on the shore, fighting for their lives. They had joined the Black Knights prepared to die for the sake of freedom and good for all. And now they were all being slaughtered like animals._

_“Has Kashima arrived yet?” Tetsurou asked his navigator. “Do you know if he’s reached the ships yet?”_

_“No sir, he hasn’t,” the man shook his head._

_“Damn it,” Tetsurou cursed, slamming a fist against the railing of the ship’s deck. His best friend always tried to play the hero, leaping into danger without a second thought. He probably wouldn’t leave for the ships unless everyone else had left already._

_“Kuroo-sama. Look!” Watari cried, pointing in the distance. Tetsurou turned around and felt his heart sink down to his stomach at the sight of thirty or more ships bearing the silver crown sigil in the horizon heading towards them._

_“We’ll be trapped if we don’t move soon,” his navigator said. “We’ll have to leave right now to avoid those ships.”_

_“No, not everyone’s on board yet,” Tetsurou shook his head, turning back to the shoreline where the fighting still raged on with no signs of it stopping. Those fighters, every single one of them, chose to join the Black Knight’s cause out of their own free will. They trusted in Tetsurou and believed in him. He in turn was responsible for all of their lives. Leaving them now like this to the mercy of the King’s men was equal to murdering them himself. And Kashima, his best friend, was one of those men left on the island._

_“Sir, if we leave now we’ll have a chance of evading those ships,” Watari reasoned. “We’re dead if we have to wait for every one of them. With this choice, we can at least save some of us if we can’t save all.”_

_“We can’t just leave them there!” Tetsurou yelled, throwing his hand out to point to the shoreline. “Those men are our brothers. We can’t leave them here to be killed!”_

_“And if we stay we’ll be killed!” his navigator raised his voice. He fixed Tetsurou with his gaze._

_“I know the decision seems hard but this is what it is to be a leader,” he continued. “The Black Knights serve a greater purpose and it will only die if each and every one of us are dead. Sacrifices are necessary for the world we need to build. You don’t win wars or revolutions without blood.”_

_Tetsurou swallowed and turned back to the shoreline. The words rang through his head. They were right. The only option Tetsurou had right now would be to continue. He had been warned about the consequences before but he pushed them all aside. And now, he had come face-to-face with reality._

_‘I’m sorry, Kashima,’ he thought, squeezing the wooden railing on the ship._

_“Pull up the anchors…” he said shakily, refusing to look neither Watari nor his navigator in the eye. “We’re leaving.”_

_“Understood, Kuroo-sama,” Watari bowed before leaving to relay the message._

_“You made the right choice, sir,” his navigator said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Their sacrifices won’t be for nothing.”_

_“No they won’t,” Tetsurou shook his head. A new fire burned inside of him. The stakes for winning the war were even higher now. He had to win. He had to win for the sake of all the lives that had to be sacrificed for the cause._

_“I’ll make sure of that. Their sacrifices aren’t going to be for nothing.”_

 

...

 

“Kuroo-san! Kuroo-san!”

“What?” Tetsurou asked, slightly irritably as he opened one eye to look at Kageyama standing in front of him.

“Stay on guard tonight,” he said. “We have to be more watchful now that Hinata’s still healing. I’ll be standing outside the warehouse. Make sure you’re there in a few minutes,” he finished before stalking off.

“Geez, what a pushover,” Tetsurou rubbed the back of his head and sat up. “Then again, he was a king when he was alive.” He picked up his spear from the floor and stood up. While walking down the hall, he passed by the room where Hinata was resting. There was a small window where Tetsurou stopped to look through. In the room, he saw Kenma sitting on a chair beside the couch where Hinata was unconscious. His Master was holding the boy’s hand with a look of care and worry on his face. Tetsurou remembered the blood ritual he observed earlier which Kenma used to heal Hinata. At first glance, his Master didn’t really seem like much to Tetsurou. But after seeing him earlier, he began to think otherwise. There was some sort of hidden power to Kenma that he only saw just then. An underlying darkness that piqued Tetsurou’s curiosity. The ritual he did looked a lot like blood magic, something that he had seen only a few times. But at the moment, all he could say for certain was that if Kenma wanted to survive the war, he was going to need more of that kind of power.

 

...

 

“Are you having second thoughts about not going to Kousei Station this morning?” Tsukishima asked. Tadashi shook his head while keeping his eyes still glued to the TV which was showing the news broadcast of what happened to Kousei Station that morning.

“There weren’t any casualties,” Tadashi explained. “And besides, that was probably a trap to lure Servants together.”

“Is that so?” Tsukishima hummed. Tadashi picked up the remote to turn off the TV when suddenly, another news headline flashed across the scene that caught his eye. “Mass Murder near Yamagi Forest,” it read. Tadashi felt his body stiffen as his thumb jabbed a button on the remote to turn up the volume.

“Right after police and paramedics rushed to the scene at Kousei Station, a witness reported seeing the aftermath of a massacre in Yamagi Forest,” the news reporter said. “The police are currently investigating this incident but based on the scene of the crime, it can be said that the killings were done by another mage cult.” Tadashi felt his hands clench into fists when he saw a picture flashed of a pentagram drawn on the grass with blood.

“Mage cults are quite common in Fuyuki City however, they tend to maintain a low profile,” the reporter continued. “The reason behind this incident is still unknown but now, security measures are surely going to be taken in order to keep the citizens of Fuyuki City safe. For now, families and friends of the forty-nine people massacred are in mourning for their loss.”

“Forty-nine people?” Tadashi finally spoke up, his voice shaking with fury. “Forty-nine people, killed just like that?”

“Are you going to do something about this one?” Tsukishima asked. “The killings were done by mages. It’s possible that a Master and Servant are responsible for these.”

“Whether a participant in the Grail War did it or not doesn’t matter,” Tadashi snapped. “The point is, they’ve massacred forty-nine innocent people and it has to be stopped and I’m not going to sit here and do nothing.”

“My days of doing nothing are over,” Tadashi shook his head. “I’m going to fight, Tsukishima."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also might not be posting for a while because exams are coming up but I'll try to post at least one chapter when I have time during the break ^^


	4. the odds against you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ‘The nightmares about that night are bad…But the worst nightmares are the ones about me losing you.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I am back after five million years!! Sorry this took so long. I was going through a really long writer's block period and I was even thinking about discontinuing this fic but I don't want to let you guys down T^T. So here's the fourth chapter and I'll try to do better for the next one!

**retaliate**

to repay in kind

_ạ̹ntqm_ **|** _paḻi_ **|**   _antekdikoúmai_ **|** _bào fù_ **|** _āmarṣa_ **|** _remunero_ **|** _nqmh_

 

“It will take at least two days for him to heal,” Shigeru explained, rubbing a hand over his tired eyes. Iwaizumi and Oikawa had arrived an hour ago and the three of them were gathered in the basement so Shigeru could break the news to them. “Four days if he’s stubborn enough to start moving around before he’s fully healed.”

“That seems highly possible,” Iwaizumi scowled.

“I apologize for allowing this to happen,” Shigeru bowed deeply before them.

“It’s not your fault,” Iwaizumi patted him on the shoulder. “You don’t have complete control over Kyoutani. Besides, it could have been worse.”

“Those two…” Oikawa began. Iwaizumi immediately looked towards him. He hadn’t said a word throughout Shigeru’s entire explanation of the fight he was in that morning.

“They may prove to be a bit difficult to handle,” Oikawa continued, looking up at them with flashing eyes. “The boy, maybe not so much. Iwa-chan could take him out in a fight quickly. And if those injuries he received earlier weakened him, all the better. Since the Servant is from the Saber class as you said, we may have some difficulty dealing with him. But his weakness seems to be his attachment to his own Master. From now on, if any of you encounter them, target the boy first.”

“Understood,” Shigeru nodded, trying to maintain a calm exterior. Inside, he felt a slight chill run through him at Oikawa’s quick, decisive judgement. ‘Sure am glad I’m on his side,’ he thought.

“Are we still pushing through with our plan tomorrow?” Iwaizumi asked. “With Kyoutani being in this state and all.”

“No,” Oikawa shook his head. “If we’re infiltrating the Sawamura residence we’ll be needing back-up just in case. No point in doing something too risky this early on in the game. Let’s wait three days from now.”

“Gotcha,” Iwaizumi nodded.

“Make sure Kyoutani gets a good amount of rest too,” Oikawa added, turning to Shigeru this time. “We’ll need him for back-up.”

“You’re infiltrating the Sawamura residence?” Shigeru repeated. “Considering their top-notch security system, it’s going to be difficult even for you two.”

“Not exactly,” Iwaizumi shook his head, exchanging glances with a smirking Oikawa.

“As I predicted, they’ve sent away all their household personnel, security guards and all,” he explained. “Iwa-chan and I drove past earlier to catch them pack up and leave the mansion. The only ones living there are Meiko Sawamura, her son, and their Servant.”

“Still,” Shigeru pressed. “That only means that they’ve got a strong enough Servant to put their complete faith in.”

“I never said it was going to be a walk in the park,” Oikawa shrugged and crossed his arms. “The warding spells aren’t as strong as they were now with only those three left to maintain it but it’s not completely impossible to enter.”

“I see. You’re going to need some good camouflaging spells then,” Shigeru mused. “I brought some books with me. I’ll try to find something we can use.”

“Excellent. Thanks, Shige-chan,” Oikawa smiled, transitioning back to his cheery, teasing self. “But that can wait until tomorrow. Go ahead and get some rest now.”

“Yeah, you earned it for fighting today,” Iwaizumi grinned.

“Thank you,” Shigeru bowed. “Then, if you’ll excuse me…” He headed up the basement staircase and up more stairs in a slight daze, his shoulders slumping as soon as he realized how tired he was. But before he was completely aware of it, Shigeru found himself heading to Kyoutani’s room instead of his own. For a few moments, he stood puzzled in front of the door, wondering why he was there and not up in his own room.

‘Maybe I’ll just check to see if he’s really resting,’ Shigeru told himself to justify what he did. Quietly, he twisted open the doorknob and pushed the door open just a bit. When he peered in, he was glad to find Kyoutani on the bed and not moving around the room.  However, he wasn’t sleeping but staring at the ceiling with his mask in his hands. Even though he was lying down, Shigeru could sense the agitation and restlessness from his body.

‘He better not do anything,’ he thought as he closed the door as quietly as he had opened it earlier before finally heading up to his room.

…

“You should be getting some rest,” Kenma frowned when he saw Shouyou ease into the seat next to him in Latin class.

“I’m fine,” Shouyou waved him off. “I was even able to do five push-ups this morning. I feel great!” he grinned before pouting slightly. “Well, except for the fact that we lost…”

Kenma closed his eyes and sighed. Only Shouyou would be upset over a lost match even if he had just recently sustained major injuries. Judging by his energy and the way he moved, bouncing actively on his seat in class, that he really was fine. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from worrying about him.

“By the way, how did you fix me up after that battle? You did a really good job,” Shouyou asked, turning to him with his head cocked to the side in curiosity. Kenma swallowed and looked down.

“I… used this healing spell I found. It was pretty hard to pull off actually...” he lied.

“Oh, well maybe you should save it for some time. We might need to use it again.”

“Especially if you keep being that reckless,” Kenma deadpanned, opening his textbook as soon as the professor walked in.

“Well you’ve got my back either way,” Shouyou grinned and elbowed him. Kenma shook his head but he couldn’t stop the small smile from appearing on his face.

“Oh, did you bring Kuroo with you?” Shouyou asked.

“Yeah. He’s not in campus but I asked him to wait in Spellbound so he’s within reach if we need him,” Kenma explained. Spellbound was the bookstore nearby that he and Shouyou sometimes visited after training. Kenma went for the books. Shouyou went for the coffee they served.

“He doesn’t seem that fazed about the time period he’s in and he seems to be adjusting well too,” Kenma added. When he left Kuroo he was calmly sitting down at one of the tables drinking coffee and reading a book. With the t-shirt, hoodie, and jeans that Kenma conjured up for him to wear, the leader of the Black Knights seemed just like a normal college student.

“Apparently it’s not his first time competing in the Grail War. Maybe that’s the reason why,” Shouyou shrugged and faced forward as their professor started class. But twenty minutes into the lecture, Kenma began to sense something… off. The kind of magic he practiced, shadow magic, was more in line with the darker arts. In ancient times, their family used to practice blood magic that often involved sacrificial offerings. That was one of the many reasons why the Kozume family was feared and also shunned by other mage families. 

Kenma was raised around this kind of magic and even knew how to use it himself.  Unlike most mages, he could easily pick up mana signatures that emanated from spells involving dark magic. And right now, although it was quite faint and nearly undetectable, Kenma could sense that something was there.

The professor droned on and on but Kenma stopped taking down notes and instead focused his concentration on that mana signature. It was much harder than he thought it was going to be. It felt like trying to grasp a single piece of thread among a bundle of other pieces of thread. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and rolled down his back but Kenma retained his concentration. But before he could actually grasp the thread completely, he was jolted out of his concentration by the sound of people standing up and packing away their things.

“Shoot…” Kenma muttered.

“Are you okay, Kenma? Did you find anything?” Shouyou asked, looking at him. He had seen Kenma do this before and knew that he shouldn’t affect his concentration whenever it happened.

“Yeah… but I did find something though… In this school…” Kenma answered in between pants. He used way more mana than he wanted to and it took him a long time trying to pick up the mana signature. “It’s… not a good sign.”

“Another Servant and Master duo must be here then…” Shouyou suspected.

“Yeah…” Kenma nodded. “It’s… dark magic… Not a good sign…”

“We’d better find the cause of it soon,” Shouyou bit his lip, his expression quickly turning serious. “But if we bring our Servants into the campus we’ll basically trigger the Master and Servant who are already here. And if we do that…”

“Our hands are tied…” Kenma murmured. “We must find out first what exactly is going on before acting.”

“And fast,” Shouyou added before glancing at Kenma worriedly. “I’m sorry, but do you think you can…”

“I’ll try again,” Kenma nodded. “Maybe later today. In the meantime, can you try checking if anyone new is attending the school? I know it’s going to be hard with the number of students here but—“

“It’s not impossible,” Shouyou shook his head before standing and helping Kenma up as well. “The next class is in the other building. Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah, I feel better now,” Kenma said and stood up to prove his point.

“Try not to worry too much for now,” Shouyou advised him as the two of them made their way out of the lecture hall. They were probably going to be a bit late for their next class but Kenma could just say that he wasn’t feeling that good.

“We’ve still got time to fix things,” Shouyou continued animatedly as they walked. “In fact, we may even be able to defeat our first Servant.”

“Yeah,” Kenma said with less enthusiasm. He could still sense the mana signature when he was walking outside but he was too tired to pick up on it. Still, it was strong enough for a pit of dread to form in his stomach.

…

Koutarou woke up from his nap and yawned as he rubbed his eyes. He had just woken up from what was probably his fifth nap that day. He didn’t quite understand why he’d been sleeping a lot if he barely did anything all day.

‘Maybe it’s an adult thing…’ he wondered. After all, he remembered wanting to sleep a lot back in his teenage years.

Ever since he brought Akaashi to the Fuyuki Magic Academy, the two of them have been staying in an unused room in one of the dormitories. It’s been almost a week already since he first summoned his Servant and ‘accidentally’ entered the Grail War but his world had already turned completely upside-down. Before, he would quickly go to his normal work or his normal classes in his normal school after waking up. But now, he had the choice of exploring the best mage academy in Japan during his free time. Or he could run errands for Akaashi like checking on the pentagrams he had placed before to make sure they were still activated.

And as if right on cue, the door opened and Akaashi walked in.

“AKAASHI!” Koutarou stood up and greeted him enthusiastically.

“Good morning, or should I say, afternoon, Bokuto-san,” the mage nodded his head, as calm and stoic as ever. Still, Koutarou was pleased to get some kind of reaction from him.

“It’s afternoon already?!” he exclaimed. “I already lost most of the day!”

“You were sleeping so I decided not to wake you up,” Akaashi responded before sitting down on one of the chairs in the small room. Koutarou’s eyes followed his every move. There was something mesmerizing with the way Akaashi moved, whether he was simply making tea or conducting a simple spell. Koutarou blinked his eyes and shook his head, furiously reminding himself that staring was rude.

“Is there something wrong, Bokuto-san?” Akaashi asked when he saw him doing that.

“N-nothing’s wrong,” Koutarou squeaked somewhat nervously.

“Well, if you won’t mind, can you do an errand for me?”

“Sure!” Koutarou nodded his head a little too enthusiastically. “I’d love to!”

“I need you to go to the library for me,” Akaashi instructed. “There’s this divination spell I’d like to do but I need to read up on it a little more. I need you to get some of the books in the library for me, the ones on divination but try looking for it where the older volumes are.”

“Right. Books on divination. Library. Older volumes. Got it,” Bokuto nodded and stood up, feeling filled with more energy once he received a task to do. He was also pretty interested in exploring the library and didn’t mind borrowing some books for himself either.

“I’ll be back soon, Akaashi. You can count on me!” he yelled before leaving the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

…

‘It’s almost too easy…’ Keiji smirked as soon as Bokuto left the room to get his ‘divination books.’ It was all a ruse. Keiji had no need of them, he had read enough books on spells and magic to last two lifetimes. All he really needed was to get Koutarou out of the room for a long enough amount of time for him to do his spell.

The dorm room they were in was useful for another reason: it was right in the center of the four cardinal points where Bokuto had placed the pentagrams. In the middle of the room, Keiji placed four candles in the direction where the four cardinal points were. He sat in the center of the circle and conjured a scrying bowl before him, making it fill up with a mixture of water and oil with a simple wave of his hand. When that was done, he lit the candles around him and pulled out a pouch containing a mixture of herbs, dust, and dried flowers from his pocket.

“ _Venio unus, venio omnis. Venio unus, venio omnis,”_  Keiji chanted as he slowly sprinkled the contents of the pouch into the scrying bowl. He repeated the chant again and again until the pouch was empty. The flames from the candles around grew taller. The atmosphere inside the room grew heavier and heavier. Keiji could feel his consciousness stretch out, reaching towards the barrier he created around the Fuyuki Mage Academy campus. He could feel the mana it had accumulated from all the mages who were inside.

And without much difficulty, he began to absorb it.

…

‘That’s weird…’ Shouyou thought. He was in the combat magic training gym practicing his mana formation. At the moment, he was concentrating on making it form blades around his arm. It usually worked for him well but today, for some strange reason, it was even harder trying to get the mana to even manifest. And despite the fact that he could hardly pull out any mana, he felt even more tired than usual.

‘Maybe I’m not that fully healed yet,’ he thought sullenly. With a groan, Shouyou lay down on the floor and stretched his arms out behind him. He put a finger on his chest and felt the scar from the wound he received right under his clothes, running from his waist diagonally up to his shoulder. Shouyou didn’t remember much after he was wounded by that freakishly quick Servant. He probably passed out from extreme blood loss while Kageyama carried him out of the danger zone to safety. After that… well all he remembered was waking up in the warehouse after a few days.

Kenma had been in the same room as him when he woke up and Shouyou could see just how stressed out he was. His friend looked like he had barely been eating and his skin was even paler than usual. Despite that, he had tended to Shouyou’s every need. He, in turn, tried to act like he was all better but in reality, Shouyou was scared to death. The Master-Servant duo he had fought was much more powerful than he even imagined. That was his first battle and he lost. Who knew what else he was going to face? Should he even be in the Grail War?

A knot of doubt began to form in his stomach that Shouyou tried hard to push away. ‘No, stop thinking that,’ he mentally yelled at himself, shaking his head to clear those thoughts from his head. Joining the Grail War meant that he couldn’t back out anymore, not when he made Kenma join him. And besides, he had gone through so much to get here and he had so much to fight for.

“Right! All I have to do is to work harder!” Shouyou exclaimed out loud, instantly sitting up. He suddenly remembered what Kenma had said earlier about a dark magic spell being cast in the campus. If that spell did take effect, it would mean bad news for the students and faculty in the Academy. He wasn’t as good at sensory magic as Kenma was but there must be something even he could do.

With that in mind, Shouyou got up and gathered his things before leaving the gym, all the while contemplating what he could do. And because of that, he was too deep in thought to even notice the person headed towards him carrying a huge pile of books.

“Gahh!” Shouyou and the other person yelled simultaneously when they bumped into each other. Shouyou landed on the ground as some heavy, hard-bound books fell around him, thankfully missing his body.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry about that. I wasn’t looking where I was going again,” the guy he bumped into immediately apologized and reached out a hand to help him up. Shouyou blinked at his wild, black-and-white streaked hair that stuck up in the air before accepting his help.

“No, it’s alright. I wasn’t looking where I was going either,” Shouyou grinned sheepishly and bent down to help him collect the books he had dropped. Almost all of them were on Divination, one of the subjects that Shouyou hated, and they seemed to be pretty old as well. Most of them were written in Tamil and Sanskrit too that made Shouyou raise an eyebrow. It was basic mage knowledge that the harder or older the language the spells were in, the more advanced and powerful they were.

“That’s a lot of books,” Shouyou commented as soon as they had gathered all of them. “I haven’t really seen you around the campus before either.” If he did, Shouyou would have remembered him with his wild-looking hair.

“Oh… um…” the other student stammered. “I’m… an exchange student. From… Russia.”

“Russia?” Shouyou cocked his head. “Oh! That makes sense then, considering the pretty advanced material you’re reading,” he chuckled.

“Yeah! That’s it,” the other student nodded, chuckling as well. “I kind of went a little crazy on the books in the library. I’m Bokuto, by the way. Bokuto Koutarou,” he introduced himself.

“I’m Hinata Shouyou,” Shouyou grinned. “So, how are you liking Fuyuki Academy so far?”

“Honestly…” Bokuto gazed at his surroundings with a broad smile on his face. “It’s really great. I’ve never really been to places like this before.”

“Well, if you need any help going around the place, I can help you out,” he offered.

“Really?” Bokuto’s face instantly lit up. “That would be great! Thanks a lot, Hinata!” he grinned

“Sure thing,” Shouyou nodded. “But right now, I kind of have to do something for a friend. So, I’ll see you around campus next time then.”

“Alright!” Bokuto nodded. “I’d shake your hand or wave but…” he gestured to the pile of books he was carrying.

“That’s fine,” Shouyou laughed and began walking off. “See you around then, Bokuto.”

…

When Tadashi felt a chill run down his spine once he got to the area where he knew the forty-nine people were massacred. The mana traces in the area was pretty strong too and the knowledge that a multitude of mages dealing with dark magic had practiced some kind of blood ritual here hung thick in the air. Tadashi didn’t want to admit it to himself but if Tsukishima wasn’t there, he may have just turned tail and gone home.

‘There hasn’t even been a battle yet,’ he mentally scolded himself. ‘If you don’t get through this, you won’t get through anything at all.’

It had been about four days since the incident already and the bodies had already been taken care of. Tadashi could only imagine how their families must have reacted to their deaths. The police tape had been removed and the blood was all washed away. Yamagi Forest was back to its usual, peaceful self. But the horrors that occurred there would always leave a stain.

“What are we looking for here?” Tsukishima asked as he and Tadashi walked among the trees. In his black cloak and boots, he looked like a character straight out of a fantasy-genre comic book. That small thought comforted Tadashi to some degree.

“A very strong mana trace,” he answered. “When I find one, there’s a ritual I’ll prepare to detect at least one of the mages who did this within the area.” Tsukishima cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Is that why you decided to bring a scrying bowl with you?” he asked. “A simple detection spell doesn’t have the range and capacity to track a single mage in the entire Fuyuki City,” he scoffed. “Can’t you just use a  _Brískō’_ spell to concentrate on it to get it over and done with?”

“My way is better,” Tadashi muttered.

“Listen,” Tsukishima roughly placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “If you’re going to be stubborn about this you’re not going to get anywhere in this Grail War you wanted to join so badly.”

“It’s too advanced for me, okay?” Tadashi replied heatedly, feeling his face flush in embarrassment. “That’s why I’d rather do this ritual.” He looked down, avoiding Tsukishima’s judging gaze. Finally, he let him go.

“You should have said so earlier,” Tsukishima grumbled. “I’ll do the spell.” He stalked off, walking with long strides that required Tadashi to jog to catch up. As he watched his Servant, Tadashi began to wish he had summoned someone else instead.

Finally, Tsukishima stopped at a clearing near a gathering of trees that seemed to be slightly older than the other trees in the forest. “Here,” he said. Instantly, Tadashi understood his meaning. The mana traces here were strongest, they practically felt tangible. There wasn’t even an attempt to conceal or diminish it. It was as if the mage who cast the spell here wanted to show off his own power.

“Alright,” Tadashi nodded and stood to the side. Tsukishima closed his eyes and held a palm up.

_“Brískō’_ _,”_ he uttered. The air around him radiated with so much energy that Tadashi felt the need to step back a little more. A few seconds passed and then Tsukishima put his hand down, the aura of energy around him fading as he did so.

“Found him,” he said.

“Where is he?” Tadashi asked.

“The headquarters must be near the lighthouse,” Tsukishima answered. “The one near the sea. I detected the mana signatures of other mages there too. All dark-magic practitioners no doubt.”

“I see…” Tadashi felt a stab of jealousy at the sight of him without any signs of exhaustion at all. Completely different from how he looked like when he made so much as an attempt to cast a super advanced spell. ‘That’s not important,’ he forcedly reminded himself. ‘At least he managed to find their headquarters.’

“That’s our next stop then,” he said, tugging at the strap of his backpack. “We’d better head out now before it gets completely dark.”

“No. Better to do it tomorrow,” Tsukishima countered. “There are too many mages there at the moment. We won’t be able to take down all of them.”

“But if we don’t go now, who knows when and who else they’ll attack,” Tadashi argued. “What they did certainly wasn’t a one-time thing. With the Grail War going on, no doubt they’ll be more aggressive and do something again. Rituals like this are cyclical, it’s going to happen again soon, I know it.”

“Fine, I’ll go in by myself then,” Tsukishima shrugged.

“Not a chance,” Tadashi adamantly shook his head. “This is my war and I’m fighting in it as much as you are.”

“Then play smart.”

“I am playing it smart,” Tadashi said exasperatedly, crossing his arms over his chest. “You didn’t think I’d plunge right into the carnage, did you?”

Now it was Tsukishima’s turn to be caught off-guard. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and Tadashi enjoyed the look on his face. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“I’ll be laying traps around the headquarters, just out of their area of detection of course. That way, I won’t actually have to fight and you can come in whenever things get a bit too rough. Sound good?” he raised an eyebrow at Tsukishima, daring him to challenge his plan.

“That… sounds better,” Tsukishima grumbled. It wasn’t exactly a compliment or a praise but Tadashi was more than satisfied with it. And besides, something told him that he wouldn’t get anything more than that from Tsukishima.

“Good,” Tadashi smiled. “Shall we get going then?” And without looking back or waiting for an answer from him, he strode off.

…

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Hajime asked, staring dubiously at the dusty old cloak Oikawa tossed at him.

“To some degree,” his friend answered, shaking the dust off his own cloak. “Like I said a few days ago, the security system over the Sawamura household wasn’t as tight as it was before. The magic from these cloaks are going to work on shielding us from the remaining wards protecting the place. As for their Servant… let’s pray they won’t detect us.”

“And if they do?” Hajime raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll open a portal! Quick as a snap!” Oikawa said cheerily, snapping his fingers. Hajime rolled his eyes at him. But he knew that his friend’s light-hearted attitude did have some merit. After all, it was completely possible for Oikawa to open a portal ‘quick as a snap.’ For someone who didn’t come from the Iwaizumi bloodline, his friend’s portal magic was pretty impressive.

‘Because he learned from the best, of course…’ Hajime thought with a tinge of sadness.

“Hey, why so gloomy Iwa-chan?” Oikawa chimed in, bringing Hajime out of his thoughts. “You look as if you’re preparing for my funeral or something,” he joked.

“I wish I was,” Hajime deadpanned, looking up at him.

“You’re mean, Iwa-chan! We’re going on a life-threatening mission right here!” Oikawa exclaimed.

“Yeah, yeah. Just make sure to get us out safely or I’ll kill you.”

“That doesn’t even make any sense!”

An hour lately, the two of them were driving to the Sawamura household. The family lived in a slightly more secluded area that was quite far from the noisy, sprawling city. The area was quite perfect for such a prestigious mage family to live in. The seclusion allowed mages to practice whatever spells they wanted and at the same time hide them from the prying eyes of the public. Despite the fact that mage families were viewed with high importance in society, no family desired to have their secrets revealed for everyone else to see.

They stopped the car a few kilometers away from the actual household to put on the cloaks that Oikawa got for them. Hajime didn’t really care where or when Oikawa got them (probably from some ancient, underground antique shop) but he was crossing all of his fingers hoping that it would actually work. Once they’ve finally donned on the clothes, they began to walk to the Sawamura household.

“Gahh, I should have washed my cloak,” Oikawa complained after sneezing for the third time during their walk. “The dust is getting to my allergies and then I’ll be all puffy and red.”

“Hey, don’t joke around,” Hajime scolded him. “If you blow our cover I’m leaving you behind.”

“Not if I’m your ticket out of here~” Oikawa sang, much to Hajime’s frustration. “Relax, I’m just trying to lighten the mood before we head into the frying pan.”

“That’s a very light way to put it,” Hajime snorted, turning to Oikawa only to find his friend staring at the distance with a faraway look in his eyes. Hajime could clearly see the tension in his body and the rage that was no doubt building up inside. Oikawa was trying to lighten the mood not only for Hajime’s sake but for his own. After all, they were going to enter the house of the one who murdered Hajime’s father.

Finally, the Sawamura residence was in sight. In the distance was a huge mansion overlooking the gardens that stretched out before them. It didn’t have any gates, mostly because the wards took care of the security already. Parked along the driveway leading to the house were seven, sleek, shiny cars that must have cost a fortune to both maintain and drive. The entire place smelled like wealth. It made Hajime’s stomach turn and left the taste of bile in his mouth. He used to live in a place like this, back when he was much younger. The Iwaizumi residence was probably just as big as this place. It was amazing how he could still recall every little detail of his house. The polished floors in the training room. The rosebushes in the garden. The carvings around the fireplace. All burned away in a fire that lasted throughout the night but seemed like eternity to Hajime. Now, his old house only existed in whatever dreams or nightmares he had when he slept.

Hajime turned to Oikawa who was silent beside him, his eyes focused on the large mansion standing in the middle of the grounds. There was no doubt he was already forming some kind of plan inside his head that was going to take them one step further on their quest for revenge. Amidst all that, Hajime could see the tension in his body, tension that had built up from years of rage and frustration. He could only imagine what was going on in Oikawa’s head right now.

“Hey,” he said, reaching out and taking Oikawa’s hand. His friend snapped out of his staring and turned to look at Hajime.

“Remember what we’re here for,” he reminded him. “Intel. Nothing more.”

“I know,” Oikawa nodded, before smirking slightly. “The rest comes after.”

“The rest comes after,” Hajime agreed.

“Well, into the belly of the beast we go then,” Oikawa said and put the hood on over his head. Hajime followed suit, quickly wishing that they didn’t have to because the cloth almost covered his entire face. But Oikawa said beforehand that the cloak’s magic won’t work very well if the hood wasn’t on so Hajime had no choice but to keep it on. And without any more delays, the two of them entered the residence.

Judging by the silence, the magic on the cloaks worked against the security wards and a look of relief passed between their faces. Still, Hajime knew he couldn’t let his guard down and kept a hand on the hunting knife he always had strapped on his hip.

The two of them walked past the gardens without a hitch. It was only when they entered the house that Oikawa began to sense something. “They have more wards around the house,” he whispered as quietly as possible. “But it shouldn’t be too much of a problem at the moment.”

“Alright,” Hajime nodded in response. The two of them were in the foyer of the house that seemed larger than it actually was because of the complete lack of people around. ‘So far so good,’ Hajime thought. It would be even better if they didn’t have to encounter the Sawamura family’s Servant.

And as if on cue, a young man with silver hair appeared down the corridor.

…

“Yachi-sama…”

“I know,” Hitoka nodded. She was at the Sawamura household again, undercover of course. She didn’t have to make much of an effort now that there were less wards surrounding the house. The only factor she really had to reckon with was the presence of their Servant, Sugawara Koushi. Hitoka could sense just how powerful he was and was always a bit unnerved when she was around him. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to detect her presence in the household. Shimizu didn’t seem quite daunted by his power, on the other hand, so Hitoka set her on the task of alerting her when he was headed towards a room she was in. Despite her faith in her magic, there was no such thing as being too careful. Especially in the Grail War.

But this time, Hitoka could sense another presence in the house. They were protected by some sort of magic that made them undetectable to the wards around the house. The Yachi family’s magic specialized in stealth that allowed them to slip past the most advanced security wards. Only a member of their family could detect another member. Hitoka knew that most of her family was dead or in hiding so she guessed that the mages inside the house were probably using some kind of amulet with her kind of magic.

But she knew that magic wasn’t going to last for long. In fact, it was wearing out at that very instant. It was only a matter of time until Sugawara was going to find them.

Then, a loud noise came from somewhere in the house.

“It would be advisable for us to leave, Yachi-sama,” Shimizu said.

“Hmmm… Let’s stay for a while,” Hitoka decided and headed towards where the noise was. “We may find some potential allies.” Shimizu nodded and the two of them made their way outside the room and down the stairs to foyer where the noise was coming from. Besides Sugawara, there were two other mages in the room, both males wearing cloaks that Hitoka guessed they used to get into the household. One of them had a hunting knife pressed against Sugawara’s throat while the other one was just about to cast a spell.

_“_ _Mşʻ_ _—“_

_“Arjuna,!”_ Sugawara yelled and the young mage was quickly bound with metal coils, restricting his body movement. Then, the Servant aimed a punch right at the other mage’s diaphragm when he was distracted. He stumbled slightly but recovered easily and slashed his knife at his opponent. The weapon found its mark and a long red slash appeared across Sugawara’s face. The mage took this chance to rush to the aid of his friend.

“Hmm… you’re pretty good at hand-to-hand combat,” Sugawara chuckled, taking a handkerchief from the pocket of his suit and using it to dab at the wound on his face.

_“_ _Grsh,”_ the mage said, trying to undo the spell on his friend. But the metal coils still held on. ‘It’s going to take more than that simple spell to undo that,’ Hitoka thought. In the meantime, Sugawara held his arm out and a long, silver bow appeared in his hand along with a quiver of arrows on his back.

“Get out of here Hajime!” yelled the mage bound in metal coils. His friend didn’t listen and instead took a protective stance in front of his friend.

_“_ _Brq,”_ he uttered, and a long sword materialized in his own hands.

‘Hajime…’ Hitoka frowned as she stared at him. The name rang a bell. Suddenly, she remembered. Hajime Iwaizumi. And then the reason why he was here in the Sawamura household was all clear. Around twenty years ago, the head of their family was killed and their entire estate was burned down. Meiko Sawamura called it ‘an unfortunate event that happened to the noblest of families.’ But Hitoka knew better. And it seems that Hajime and his friend did too.

Sugawara strung an arrow in his bow and let it go. It traveled faster than Hitoka could detect but with a swing of his sword, the Iwaizumi mage cut the arrow clean in two. Sugawara whistled, and picked another arrow from his quiver.

“That was close. You seem to be a very worthy opponent,” he said before notching the arrow in his bow.

“Any time now, Shittykawa,” the mage cursed.

“A few more minutes, Iwa-chan,” his friend gritted his teeth. He was using a simple flame spell in his hand and using it to carefully melt the metal coils around himself.

“Let’s see you escape from this,” Sugawara grinned maniacally and drew the bowstring. But before he could let go, Hitoka held her hands out towards him and yelled _“(Explode in Chinese).”_

The foyer exploded and Sugawara went flying backwards. Hitoka uncovered her hood and ran towards the two other mages. “Hurry,” she said. “We have to get out of here before he wakes up.”

“Who are you?” the Iwaizumi mage frowned at her.

“Another enemy of the Sawamura family,” she said. Shimizu appeared beside her and using her short-bladed sword, she helped free the other mage from his restraints. He stood up and held both arms out.

_“(Portal in ),”_ he said. Immediately, a portal opened in the wrecked foyer. He turned to Hitoka and Shimizu with a slightly suspicious look in his eyes.

“We’ll help you get out of here for now as thanks for what you did. But that doesn’t mean we’re allies quite yet,” he said.

“Fair enough,” Hitoka smiled. “We have a lot to talk about.” Suddenly, an arrow flew past them, narrowly missing Hajime’s head by a few centimeters.

“But for now we have to get out,” he said. “Go, go, let’s move!” And without delaying further, the four of them stepped through the portal and out of the house.

…

The blast threw him across the hallway he came from but thankfully he only hit the wall beside the window. It would have been much worse if he had been thrown out of the house. Koushi grinned and leaned his head back against the wall. His opponents, the two boys who had just arrived and the other person who caused the blast, put up quite a fight. It may not be one of the best fights Koushi’s had but after years of not being able to do so, it felt good to use his bow again.

“Meiko-san sure has a lot of enemies,” Koushi said to himself and stood up as soon as he was finished healing. He placed his hands in his pockets and surveyed the damage inside the house. “My, my, what a mess,” he sighed.

_“_ _Kalpaḥ,”_ he uttered. Then, the mess in the house began to fix itself. The broken walls pieced back together and all the broken glass flew back into place. Koushi walked down the hallway, whistling with his hands in his pockets as the spell took effect. In a few minutes, the foyer looked exactly as it did before.

Of course, he could have left it as it was for Meiko and Daichi to see when they got home. Then, Koushi would tell him about the two mages he caught inside the household and the Yachi girl who came quite often to gather intel on Meiko’s plans. After that, the two Sawamuras were going to ask him to track them down and eliminate them from the war. That would make everything easier but then, where was the fun in that?

In all honesty, he couldn’t wait to see how that Iwaizumi boy and his friend were going to get their revenge on the Sawamuras.

…

“Shouyou, look at this,” Kenma called his friend over. The two of them were at their warehouse headquarters. Shouyou was busy dueling Kageyama and Kuroo was cleaning his spear again for what was probably the fifth time that day. It seemed to Kenma that he never actually did anything but that and for most of the day he always seemed distracted. A part of him was dying to know what Kuroo was thinking but another part of him knew that it didn’t really matter.

Just as he called him, Shouyou was knocked to the ground with Kageyama’s staff pointed at his chest. The two of them sparred quite a lot these days since Shouyou said he wanted to build up his physical abilities for any future battles. It seemed like the loss from the previous battle hit him quite hard. But then again, Kenma knew that Shouyou always hated losing, even when it came to dueling matches in their Combat Magic class. No matter what, he would always keep on fighting until he had defeated his opponent or been knocked out unconscious. Very much unlike Kenma who often admitted defeat as soon as he was knocked down. It wasn’t really because he was weak or anything but he just didn’t really feel the need to apply himself that much.

“Your stance was weak and even though you were quick enough to strike and land a few blows you need to improve your defense,” Kageyama said before taking away the staff and allowing Shouyou to stand up. Unlike Kuroo and Kenma who only exchanged a few words with each other throughout the day, Shouyou trained with Kageyama almost all the time when they didn’t have class. Despite his quiet and calm demeanor, he was actually pretty strict and verbal when he trained Shouyou. His friend took all of it in stride, like he always did even in class, and focused only on improving. Somehow, the time they were spending together bothered Kenma in a way he didn’t quite understand. ‘The two of them are just training. What’s there to be worried about?’ he often reminded himself.

“Yeah? What is it?” Shouyou asked and walked over to the magic map that Kenma made to track the mana activity in the city. Ever since he felt something that day in the Academy, he had been tracking the mana activity using the map. But so far, nothing there was out of the ordinary. What he was looking at now was the lighthouse near the sea. The map wasn’t as accurate on picking up the tiniest discrepancies, a feature that Kenma knew put them at a disadvantage. But that only meant that the mana activity the map showed was much stronger than normal. Other than the explosion in the train station, the map also detected a spike in mana activity over at Yamagi Park when the mass-murder occurred. At that time, Kenma was busy taking care of Shouyou who had just been wounded and he didn’t want the investigate what was happening. If he knew it was a mass-murder done by a cult, maybe he would have sent Kuroo.

Now, the area around the lighthouse near the sea was glowing on the map. Shouyou and Kageyama joined him by the map. Kuroo, seeing that there was something go on, came over as well. But out of the four of them, only Kenma and Shouyou really knew what it meant.

“We’re definitely investigating this,” Shouyou said seriously. The expression on his face was grim and his mouth was set in a firm line.

“As soon as possible,” Kenma agreed.

“Why? Anything important in this area in particular?” Kuroo asked with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s where the Shadow Cult’s headquarters are,” Shouyou said with a slight snarl. “If there’s a spike in mana activity going on there, that means they’re definitely planning something.”

“They’re the ones who caused the massacre a few days ago, right?” Kageyama said, narrowing his eyes in anger. “The ones in charge of the murder of innocents.”

“That’s them,” Shouyou nodded.

“I’ll take care of it,” Kenma spoke up. “I know my father’s close to the cult leader so it’s better if I went.”

“Just because you’re his son doesn’t mean they won’t try to hurt you!” Shouyou exclaimed.

“I know them better than you do. It would be easier for me to fight them if it has to come to that,” Kenma reasoned.

“But they’ll be using blood magic,” Shouyou’s face darkened at the mention of it. “If it’s a fight with them then it’s not going to be a fair fight.”

“Then I’ll come along. I am the Servant after all,” Kuroo volunteered. “And besides, I haven’t fought in a long time. It would be good to get a chance to swing this thing again before I wear it down by cleaning it too much,” he joked.

“That makes me feel a bit better,” Shouyou smiled. “But still, be careful, Kenma.”

“I’ll take care of this guy,” Kuroo said before placing a hand on Kenma’s shoulder. “Actually, I kind of made a strategy that might help us. Would you like to discuss it?”

“Um, sure?” Kenma nodded, already knowing that Kuroo was going to bring up something else.

“Let’s continue sparring, Kageyama,” Shouyou said.

“Work on some drills first to improve your stance,” Kageyama ordered as the two of them began to walk away to the center of the empty warehouse. Meanwhile, Kenma and Kuroo stayed by the map.

“You haven’t told Shouyou about how you managed to heal him, haven’t you?” Kuroo said, crossing his arms as he looked at Kenma.

“It’s a detail I’d rather leave out,” he mumbled. “Shouyou would never have allowed that but it was the only way to save him.” Kenma looked at Kuroo with a hint of defiance. “I’m not afraid to use a Command Seal to silence you if I have to,” he said.

“Relax, no need for any of that,” Kuroo held up his hands. “But, do you know any other black magic spells?”

“You don’t need to know that,” Kenma stared at the ground. He and all his brothers knew some, although his brothers were still more active in practicing their craft. Their father forced them to learn some at an early age and it was only when Kenma left his house and entered Fuyuki Academy that he stopped. But even so, he chose to hide this detail from Shouyou whom he knew hated black magic.

“I would if we’re going to be in this war together,” Kuroo pressed. “We can use it to our advantage if we’ll be encountering that Shadow Cult tomorrow.”

“We are not going to use black magic. There are other spells I know of that are better,” Kenma snapped. “The one that I did on Shouyou was one of the more harmless spells and I had to give my own blood to do it. There are other spells that have too high a price to pay.”

“You still don’t understand what it means to be in this war, do you?” Kuroo crossed his arms and shook his head. When Kenma didn’t answer, he continued. “Let me tell you this now while everything’s still quite peaceful. In the past Grail War I’ve been in, all the chosen participants sacrificed everything they had to win. Some of them entered with clean consciences but those never lasted for long. Eventually, they all made decisions and did things they didn’t even think they would do. Slowly, bit by bit, they lost who they were.

“My own Master was one of those. He wanted to win the war and wish for enough power to help bring prestige and glory for his own family. But towards the end, he ended up turning on them and trying to win the Grail War on his own. And if anyone got in his way, no matter how close they were, he would cut them down.”

Kenma swallowed a hard lump in his throat. What Kuroo said did nothing but add on to his current insecurities. Now, he just felt like giving up. He wasn’t as strong-willed or determined as Shouyou was. And despite how much he hated his family, he never did anything to rebel against them. In the end, maybe he was just as weak-willed and meek as his mother.

“That isn’t a problem at the moment,” he said softly. “For now, we just need to deal with the Shadow Cult tomorrow and then the spell currently happening in the Academy.”

“I told you all of that now just to make you aware of what was going to happen,” Kuroo narrowed his eyes at him. “But if you won’t listen, then there’s nothing I can do to help you.”

“I don’t need your advice,” Kenma shook his head numbly. “Only your service.”

“And that, you have,” Kuroo bowed, almost mockingly. “Well, if you’ll excuse me then.” And with that, he walked away carrying his long spear behind him.

…

_“My name is Yachi Hitoka. You may not have heard that much about my family because what happened to us is similar to what happened to you and your family,” the girl said. “And now I’m offering an alliance to take down the Sawamura family.”_

Those words from earlier that day kept distracting Tooru from his work in the basement. The fact that his mission to get intel on the Sawamura’s strategies not only failed but completely backfired kept him from getting his few hours of sleep at night. He couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that he and Iwaizumi were almost _killed_ earlier and that most of it was his fault. He was the one who assured his friend that if anything bad happened, he was going to portal them to safety. But instead, he ended up getting caught by that Servant’s trap and having to be protected by Iwaizumi, again.

“Stupid Iwa-chan,” Tooru muttered under his breath. “He should have run away when I told him to.” At the moment, he was poring through a dusty, old, Japanese History book, trying to see if he can find anything about that silver-haired Servant. He was barely halfway through the book so he hasn’t seen anything of interest yet. Sighing, he put down the book and removed his glasses to rub his tired eyes.

‘But that Yachi Hitoka girl…’ he thought. She was the real one who saved their lives. Once Tooru portaled them to safety, she told them about who she was and her offer of an alliance. Based on the presence of her Servant, a silent, dark-haired girl who didn’t say so much as a word to any of them, Yachi was also playing in the Grail War. She left her cellphone number with them if they had an answer to her offer before leaving to God-knows-where.

With the help of Yahaba, Iwaizumi and Tooru researched on the Yachi family as well. They were a small, mage family specializing in stealth magic however the bloodline was poor and there were barely any members left. The family head and their eldest child died years ago under ‘mysterious circumstances.’ From that, Tooru instantly knew that Meiko Sawamura had something to do with this. And if that was true, then maybe Yachi would serve as a good ally. She was quite young for a mage but Tooru knew that it was never good to underestimate someone based on their age.

“Shittykawa, you’re still awake?” the sound of Iwaizumi’s voice and his stomping feet down the stairs brought Tooru out of his thoughts.

“Ah! Iwa-chan! I was just doing a bit of light reading, that’s all,” Tooru smiled at him. “Did you come down for a goodnight kiss~?” he sang. Tooru was a serious person most of the time who always managed to keep his cool even in the toughest situations. However, when Iwaizumi was around, those feelings went out the window. He could be flirty and sassy with him like now, or he could be desperate and protective like how he was earlier.

“Gross. Who would want to kiss an idiot like you?” Iwaizumi scoffed and hit him in the back of the head. “That doesn’t look like light reading at all,” he said when he saw the thick, dusty book on Tooru’s table.

“Well your idea of light reading is probably playboy or car magazines so I beg to differ,” Tooru grinned cheekily. Iwaizumi’s eyebrows twitched.

“Do you want to end up dead tomorrow?”

“No thanks. I can’t leave you alone in this war. Who knows what you’ll manage to do?” Tooru laughed.

“Have you been thinking about that girl’s offer?” Iwaizumi asked, leaning against the table. Now they were on to serious business. Tooru crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Yeah, I have.”

“And?” Iwaizumi looked at him expectantly.

“I think we should ally with her. She said that she was their secretary for quite some time so that means she knows quite a lot about them. We’ll need her if we want to take the Sawamuras down,” Tooru said and smirked at Iwaizumi. “Nothing like good ol’ revenge to serve as a common ground with potential allies.”

“And what happens after we manage to do that? We can’t exactly be allies after that. Only one Master can win the Grail,” Iwaizumi said.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Tooru waved his hand. “For now, those are my thoughts. We can confer with Yahaba in the morning too.”

“Alright. In the meantime, you…” Iwaizumi reached out his hand and grasped Tooru’s shirt collar before hauling him out of his chair quite effortlessly. “You need to get some sleep for the night.”

“Wait, just a few more pages!”

“Nope. A few more pages will turn into a whole lot more pages and then you won’t sleep at all.”

“But Iwa-chaaaan…”

“Shut up Trashykawa.”

Without stopping, Iwaizumi completely dragged Tooru up to his room on the third floor of the house. His actual bedroom was pretty neat and tidy. In fact, it looked like nobody lived there at all. Tooru usually just used it if he needed to take a nap or change his clothes. He couldn’t remember the last time he actually slept for the night in his own bedroom. Based on the look on Iwaizumi’s face, he was thinking the exact same thing.

“The harder part of the Grail War is going to come much after, when everybody starts trying to get at each other’s throats. For now, it’s still fine so while you can, try to get some sleep at least,” Iwaizumi sighed. There was worried, sad look on his face that Tooru couldn’t quite look away from. It was one thing to get Iwaizumi exasperated about whatever crazy antics he occasionally got himself into, it was another thing to make him worried about Tooru.

“Alright. Got to get my beauty sleep sometime anyway,” Tooru grinned before flopping on his bed. After weeks of falling asleep at desks, tables, and sometimes even standing upright on kitchen counters, lying down on a bed felt a bit weird. He looked up, expecting Iwaizumi to be gone but instead finding him leaning sideways against the doorframe of his room.

“I knew I was good-looking but I didn’t think I was that good-looking for you to want to watch me sleep,” Tooru teased.

“Shut up. It’s not that idiot,” Iwaizumi grumbled.

“What is it then?”

“Why can’t you sleep at night?” his friend scowled. “I know sometimes you do fall asleep by mistake when you’re working on the couch or reading something in the library but it’s never for that long. Usually just a few hours at most. And if you work for that long how are you not tired?”

“It’s not that I’m not tired…” Tooru looked down at the comforter on top of his bed and began picking absentmindedly at the threads. “I just can’t sleep, not for a long time. Somehow I always manage to wake up.”

“Nightmares again?” Iwaizumi asked, now looking even more worried than before, if that was even possible. Tooru glanced up at him and nodded. “You should have told me sooner Oikawa,” he shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

“It came back again a few weeks before the Grail War began,” Tooru said. “I’d wake up after one or two hours of sleep and then I’d be too scared to go back to sleep so I just spend the rest of the night reading or doing something to keep myself busy.”

“It’s just like before…” Iwaizumi said softly.

“Just like before…” Tooru nodded. The nightmares began when he was still twelve years old, not long after Hajime’s father was killed and their estate was burned down. He took therapy for a while and it ended, but sometimes it did come back. Now, it was more frequent than ever.

“Need me to stay again?” Iwaizumi asked, somewhat hesitantly. Tooru looked up at him in slight surprise. He opened his mouth to make some kind of joke but in the end, he couldn’t really bring himself to. Instead, he bit his lip and nodded. Without saying anything else, Iwaizumi closed the door and switched off the light before lying in the bed next to him. Somehow, the feeling of Iwaizumi beside brought Tooru back years ago to when they would stay in the same bed because they were too afraid to sleep alone in their own rooms. There was always something about Iwaizumi that kind of loosened something up in Tooru and made him feel small and vulnerable, like a child again.

“Do you see Dad? In your nightmares, I mean,” Iwaizumi said. Tooru nodded. He couldn’t see his face in the dark but he could imagine the expression on his friend’s face.

“I do. Either dead, or dying,” Tooru answered with full honesty.

“And the fire?”

“That’s the grand finale piece,” he chuckled half-heartedly.

“Those are always the worst parts…” Iwaizumi said softly. Tooru bit his lip. He knew he had the nightmares too a long time ago. But his were probably even worse. He had to see his own father die right in front of him after all and the home he grew up in burn to the ground. It was worse for him because he belonged there, this was the life he was supposed to grow up in. And all of that was taken away in one single night. Now, all he had left was a friend who couldn’t even save him in their first battle.

‘The nightmares about that night are bad…’ Tooru thought. Iwaizumi was facing away from him on the bed and Tooru just stared at the back of his head, wondering what he was thinking. ‘But the worst nightmares are the ones about me losing you.’

…

“You forgot to watch your stance… again,” Tobio said exasperatedly with the bottom end of his staff aimed at Hinata’s chin.

“Damn it!” he yelled. Tobio took the staff away but his Master still remained on the ground, panting from exhaustion.

“Maybe it’s time to stop training for today…” Tobio suggested. It was already two o’ clock in the morning but it didn’t seem like Hinata was aware, or even cared, for that fact.

“No… one more…” Hinata said between pants. “One… more…”

“You’re both mentally and physically exhausted, Hinata. Nothing good will come out of you exerting yourself further.”

“This isn’t even my limit…” Hinata laughed and began to sit up. “Believe me… I’ve had much worse. One more round, Kageyama.”

“No. If you say that you’re going to ask for another round right after I beat you.”

“Who said you were going to beat me?” Hinata smirked slightly at him. Tobio felt his eyebrow quirk in annoyance but at the same time, he couldn’t quite turn his eyes away from Hinata’s burning ones. Something told him that he wouldn’t rest until he could finally win a duel against Tobio.

“There really is no stopping you,” he sighed and shook his head. “But rest for a while at least,” he ordered.

“That sounds good,” Hinata nodded.

“If I may ask though…” Tobio hesitated a bit before continuing. “Why are you and Kenma in the Grail War? I know the reward seems tempting and everything but the risks outweigh it by a mile. Even if you do have Kenma, me, and I guess Kuroo, on your side.”

“So that’s what you’re curious about…” Hinata looked down. The look on his face changed, as if he was remembering something painful. Only his eyes didn’t change. Still, they remained fiery and bright.

“I love magic, really. Especially when I use it to do things to run really fast or jump really high. The feeling of actually getting a spell right can’t be compared to anything else. There are so many ways you can use it for. Like helping people and defending them. Not…” Hinata paused and swallowed, “killing them.” He looked up at Tobio and smiled sadly.

“That’s what I’m fighting for in this War, basically. When Kenma and I win that Grail, we’re going to wish for peace. We’re going to wish for mages to stop using their magic for evil.”

“A lot of people have fought for that cause as well, and died trying,” Tobio said. Him included. “But maybe, maybe you’ll actually make it.”

“You really think so?” HInata’s face broke out into a grin. “Now I’m even more pumped! Wait and see, Kageyama. We’ll make this happen together!”

“OF course,” Tobio nodded.

“After all, we have the ‘King’ on our side.”

At the sound of that word, Tobio felt every muscle in his body tense. ‘King.’ They all called him that once. His advisors, his servants, his people. All with a smile and a look of respect in their eyes. That was who Tobio was. Their ‘King.’ Everyone placed their trust in him and everyone died as a result. The last time he headed out to battle, his most trusted advisors saw him off. And when they said the word ‘king’ there was nothing but contempt and hatred in their eyes.

“Don’t call me that…” Tobio felt his voice shake. “Please don’t call me that.”

“O-okay…” Hinata said, sounding a bit confused. “Whatever you say then.”

“Sorry, it brings up… unpleasant memories,” Tobio shook his head to stop thinking about them. “Ready for another round?” he held up his staff again and took a stance.

“Alright!” Hinata got up and was the first to aim the strike.

‘I know that your cause is noble,’ Tobio thought as he blocked Hinata’s punches and lightning-fast kicks. ‘When you summoned me, I guess I was moved at the fact that you had the same dream I did. But the more that I think about it, the more that I realize…’

“Watch your stance!” Tobio yelled and swiped his staff at Hinata’s legs before he could react. His Master fell to the ground again with a curse.

‘It might be futile after all.’

…

‘Alright Shouyou, time to get to work,’ Shouyou told himself as soon as he saw Bokuto Koutarou leave the library with another armful of books. Shouyou pulled the hood of his jacket over his head and began to follow him out and around the campus.

Shouyou knew there was something fishy about him the moment he saw him. He may not be as smart as Kenma was but he knew how to spot clues quite well. And at the same time, he relied on his gut feeling which had never ever failed him before. As he followed Bokuto to his residence hall, Shouyou ticked off his mental checklist of reasons why he could be a suspect.

Number one: with Bokuto’s wild appearance, Shouyou would have definitely seen him around campus before. He knew quite a lot of people on campus as well and most of the friends he asked didn’t know a thing about Bokuto Koutarou.

Number two: the exchange student program for Fuyuki Academy was such a long, boring, meticulous process that most students abroad didn’t bother to involve themselves in. Most of the foreign students there chose to move to Japan and just apply directly to the Academy.

Number three: Shouyou had to pore through the Academy’s student records for this one. Bokuto Koutarou wasn’t registered in any of the classes.

Shouyou had a number of other reasons as well including stuff about his name and non-Russian accent but for now, those three reasons were the strongest ones that made Bokuto quite suspicious. Shouyou knew there was still the possibility of it actually being nothing and that his ‘detective skills’ were actually shit but with the Grail War going on and the dark magic spell Kenma found in the academy, every suspicion was a risk worth investigating.

He ended up following Bokuto all the way to the Academy’s greenhouse where the medicinal plants for the Healing Magic class were being grown. Besides the usual student who watered the plants in the morning, the place was almost rarely visited. Shouyou expected Bokuto to enter the greenhouse but instead, he left his books on a bench near it and continued walking until he reached the small grove of trees near the border of the Academy campus. Shouyou stopped near the greenhouse and waited, watching as Bokuto crouched down in front of a tree for a few minutes before standing up and leaving the way he came. Shouyou stayed in hiding while Bokuto collected his books before finally leaving the area. Once it was all clear, he jogged up to the very same tree. He crouched down and on the ground before him, right where the tree roots were, was a pentagram.

“Shit…” Shouyou cursed when he saw the ancient rune markings written inside the circle and the fact that it was slightly glowing purple. He couldn’t exactly read them but he knew that those were commonly used in black magic spells. This was it, the spell that Kenma had been trying to trace. If he was there, maybe they’d be able to understand what kind of spell was being cast in the Academy. Shouyou considered taking a picture on his phone and sending it to Kenma when he remembered that he was off taking care of the Shadow Cult already.

“You’ll have to take matters into your own hands this time,” he told himself out loud. Whatever that spell was, it didn’t matter to Shouyou because he knew that it was bad either way. The only way he could put an abrupt stop to what was going on would be to destroy the pentagram. This one was etched into the hard ground. And without even thinking twice, Shouyou took a rock and sliced right through it.

…

A sharp jolt through his consciousness brought Keiji out of his meditation. Calmly, he opened his eyes to stare at the blank wall in front of him. It could only mean one thing: someone had found out about his barrier spell.

‘Bokuto must have done something to lead them there…’ he thought, standing up from his previous sitting position. He had hoped that he could stay a while to gather some more mana but apparently, Bokuto was unable to do the simple task of not attracting attention to himself. Oh well, it was going to happen sooner or later anyway.

Keiji pulled the hood of his cloak over himself. With a wave of his hand, he conjured up his staff and gripped it tightly. He could feel the mana coursing through his circuits, just as much a part of him as his blood was to his body. ‘No matter,’ he thought with a small smirk on his face. The air around him tingled with energy.

He had more than enough mana already.

…

Nothing happened.

Shouyou half-expected the pentagram to blow up but the only thing that happened was that it had stopped glowing purple. It wasn’t a pentagram anymore. Just a drawing etched on the ground.

“Does that mean… the spell stopped already?” he asked out loud, looking at his surroundings for any changes. Suddenly, just when he thought nothing had happened, a figure in a dark purple cloak appeared in front of him.

“My, my. You’re quite the sharp one for detecting my spell,” the figure chuckled. Shouyou couldn’t see their face but he could tell by their voice that it was a man.

“I broke the spell. Now all I have left to do is to stop you!” Shouyou exclaimed. _"Ryḥ sẖfrẗ,""_ he uttered and mana began to manifest around his arms forming long blades.

“How naïve of you to think that,” the guy said. “Actually, that spell was only the beginning.”

“And I’m prepared for anything you have to throw at me,” Shouyou said confidently. He’d been training quite a lot lately and he knew that he was probably strong enough to take the guy out in a one-on-one, combat match. But if he was more powerful than he thought, Shouyou could just call Kageyama over.

“Are you really? We’ll see about that,” the hooded figure said. Something about his cool, casual tone bothered Shouyou immensely. _‘Illusio,’_ the guy said. And before Shouyou could react, he was plunged in darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> Huzzah! First chapter done! Please let me know what you think in the comments. If you have any questions feel free to ask them too 
> 
> Also, regarding the thing I put in the beginning of chapter one, I added the translations of the word 'begin' in seven of the oldest world languages. I just thought that starting off a chapter with something like this makes it kind of cool (hehe). These seven languages in particular will be mentioned quite a lot in this fic since the spells and incantations are in these languages. I also chose seven because you know, seven Servants.
> 
> And just in case you were wondering, the translations in the beginning (from left to right) are in: Tamil, Sanskrit, Greek, Chinese, Hebrew, Latin, and Arabic. I just got these translations on an online dictionary so if I'm wrong please feel free to mention it.


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